


No Funny Business

by outindaylight



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Timelines, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Game Spoilers, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Suggestive Themes, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-04-28 09:04:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 46,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5085979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outindaylight/pseuds/outindaylight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you never make it past the fall and Toriel weeps over the broken, human body she finds at the bottom of the chasm. Other times you trigger the wrong trap along the way or mess up a certain puzzle and end up dying alone, crying out for help that never comes. Papyrus never could bring himself to hurt you, but Undyne, Mettaton, and the other monsters got their chances. Asgore too, although they didn’t call him a pushover for nothing.</p><p>Sometimes you came back different. </p><p>Wrong.</p><p>And nothing Sans ever did could change the outcome before it all started over again.</p><p>He knew what to expect, having played out every possible situation too many times to count. He could feel you coming long before you got there. How would it be this time? How were you going to hurt him now? He had long given up hope for a happy ending, but...</p><p>...maybe you could still surprise him.</p><p>[Not really finished, but discontinued for now. What happens next is left ambiguous after the last chapter.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Determined

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I can't believe I'm posting this. I wrote this story for my own personal enjoyment, but I thought maybe others would like it too...so here we are!
> 
> Just a quick warning, it stays pretty consistent with the game until chapter four and some game dialogue is included at first, just to set the scene. Once it breaks away however, it won't include much from the game. Like the tags say, it deals with some angst and such, but nothing graphic. Just want to make sure everyone is informed. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy~! Also, please feel free to comment with some constructive criticism. I'm always ready to improve. Thank you for reading!

Death beckoned like an old friend. 

The world was sad and cruel. People were selfish, greedy, and looked down their noses at you all of your life. You were an outcast, with no real accomplishments to make you matter. Unwanted. Unloved.

Friendless. 

You wanted nothing to do with it anymore. So you left everything behind, let go of whatever "attachments" you had. You had never felt so free as you slipped further into the winding trails of Mount Ebott as night fell, running away from a world that had never wanted you.

Now peace lay at your feet. 

You stood on the edge of the large chasm you had stumbled upon, staring down into its abysmal depths. It was so dark and deep, smelling of moist, rich dirt and the sharp, bitter smell of bugs. You could not see the bottom in the moonlight. 

Perfect. 

You placed one foot forward and that was all it took. You let your body fall over the ledge, limbs slack as you sunk like a rock into the darkness. The rush of air stung your eyes, drying them instantly, and you had to close them as your fate raced up to meet you at breakneck speed.

This is what you wanted. You should have felt tranquil. Relieved? Happy? 

Anything but the suffocating terror that ripped it's way through your body, up your throat, and out of your mouth. You were screaming, arms flailing and grabbing at open air, trying to take it back. Trying to fix your mistake. You were filled with...

Regret.

Your life might have been broken and lonely, but it was yours. It meant something. Even if you were the only one that ever cared. You couldn’t let this be your end. You were meant for something more..

You wanted to live.


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowers, souls, and goat-moms...oh my!

Urgh...

Your eyelids felt as if they weighed a ton, but orangish-pink light filtered through the thin flesh and roused you into reluctant consciousness. You forced them open anyways. Miles above you was a was a gaping hole, letting a circle of light cut through the otherwise pitch-black cavern and it illuminated your body like you were on center stage. The opening was too high up to see the blue sky or mountains, but the warm radiance could only be the sun pouring into the abyss and tears welled up in your eyes, sliding down your cheeks silently.

You were alive.

Somehow your last wish, desperately screamed into the darkness as it swallowed you up, came true. Your body ached, each ragged breath sucked through your lungs more painful than the last, and you couldn’t summon up the energy to move just yet. Though the longer you stared at the light above you, the more aware you became. 

You were _alive_.

You mustered up the strength to sit up and your body felt weighed down, sluggish. You stretched your hands out before you and despite the soreness, there were no cuts or bruises. You reached up to touch the back of your head and brought your hand away. No blood. It was a miracle.

You looked around and could not make out much in the dark. It was somewhat cool and damp, like a basement, but it smelled of rock and dirt. It felt like abandon, a forgotten secret. You almost expected to see a dragon slinking out from the shadows, breathing fire and trying to protect its hoard of gold.

Speaking of gold…

You were lying in a thick patch of golden yellow flowers, growing in the circle of light from above. Buttercups. They must have broken your fall, but it still didn’t make sense. You shouldn’t have never woke up again after a fall like that.

You stood up easily enough and your body radiated in pain, but nothing seemed broken. Looking up, you knew that there was no way you were going to get back up that way and you could see that where you had fallen into was actually a very large underground cavern. You kept moving, squinting to make out your surroundings and you could just barely see the outline of a doorway ahead. There was light beyond it and as you went through the door you could see something in the middle of the room, bathed in a pool of light like a spotlight...

A smiling, yellow buttercup flower.

“Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower!” it said.

You didn’t know what to say. How could a flower speak to you? How can a flower be alive, with a friendly, welcoming smile?

“Hmm...You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do!”

You took a step forward, curious, but your words were still failing you. You weren’t over the talking flower yet.

“Ready? Here we go!”

Suddenly a red heart materialized in the air before your chest, floating there freely on its own but when you jumped back in surprise, it moved with you as if it were tethered to you by invisible string. You didn’t understand, but somehow it made you feel very vulnerable. Exposed.

“That heart is your soul! It starts out very weak at first, but it can grow stronger by collecting LOVE! LOVE is shared in the form of little, white friendliness pellets!”

Suddenly a ring of white, pellets hovered around the flower, spinning in place. You instantly were afraid. What was going on?

“Don’t be scared!” Flowey assured you cheerfully. “You want some LOVE, don’t you? I’m going to share some with you, so jump around and try to catch them.”

Before you could say another word, the pellets were flying at you full speed. You didn’t even have time to move towards them or run away, let alone think about the logic behind this. Some of the pellets flew past harmlessly. However, one of the pellets struck your heart directly. Pain exploded in your body, making you cry out and drop to your knees. 

“You idiot.”

The flower was still smiling, but it had changed. It’s mouth was open wider, baring its teeth in a ferocious grin and there was a bloodlust in its empty eyes. How could something so small strike such fear in your heart? Oh, yeah. Maybe it was the magic “friendliness” pellets that he was throwing at you.

“In this world, it’s kill or BE killed. Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this?” Flowey hissed menacingly. 

Suddenly a circle of white pellets surrounded you. You were still badly hurt, barely holding on through the excruciating pain searing through your body, but you looked around weakly for a way out. You were completely encircled and the pellets were coming closer with every second…

“Die.”

Just before the pellets hit, you a ball of flames appeared from the shadows and shot towards Flowey. With a cry, the flower was uprooted from the earth and sent into the darkness of the caverns. The pellets disappeared with it. You looked up nervously towards where the flames had come from. Was it the dragon you had imagined up earlier? At this point, you didn’t know what to expect. 

Stepping into the light was a...goat...woman...goat-woman? She walked on her hind legs, had white fur, and wore a long-sleeved purple dress. She held out her hand to you. 

“What a terrible creature. Are you alright?” she asked in gentle voice. 

You instantly shrunk away from her, terrified. You didn’t want to be tricked again. Her expression grew even more concerned as you drew back.

“Oh no, please do not be afraid. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins.”

“Ruins?” you asked. “Is that where we are?”

“Yes, we are in the ruins of the Underground.”

Underground, yes. The flower had said that as well. You had never heard of such a place, but you did remember the old lore and legends. Everyone knew them, the myths about monsters being banished to live underneath the mountains. You had thought they were fairy tales, stories, and nothing more…

Or maybe you really were dead.

“Human?” Toriel pressed as you sat there in silence, contemplating. “How badly are you hurt?”

She asked a very good question. You weakly scrambled to your feet and your legs buckled underneath you. Toriel reached out and caught you before you could hit the ground. You looked up into her face and was surprised to see real, genuine worry there. She immediately slipped an arm underneath yours to support your weight and she helped you limp forward.

“Let me get you out of the catacombs and somewhere safe. You can rest there.”

“Where are we going?” you asked, drooping against her.

She was warm and soft, her fur brushing against you as she held you. She smelled slightly of soap, like clean linens, and not at all like how you would think a goat would smell. She looked down at you and smiled.

“Home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still figuring out ao3. Please be patient with me! Also, if anyone would like to know the playlist I listen to while writing this story, please let me know. Thank you for your time!


	3. Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost there...

You didn’t want to leave.

Toriel was caring and kind, something you never knew up above. She was the ideal parent, making yummy meals, providing a warm bed, and gave you a home where you felt safe. You had stayed with her for about a month, maybe longer, for you had no sun to help count the days, but instead relied on Toriel’s regular combing of the ruins to check for other fallen humans. She told you that you were the first to fall in a long time.

After you were healed, she taught you of the monsters’ strange tradition of making puzzles and taught you how to solve them, but always hovered nearby so that you were never in any real danger. She also taught you of patience and compassion, for apparently you needed it to survive Underground. Apparently monsters could really drive a person to the point of violence. She confirmed that the legends were true, that monsters were indeed sealed away underground by the humans and she explained that they lived in great despair under the earth, trapped there by a magical barrier.

Toriel told you that the barrier was impassable and that Asgore Dreemur, the king, decreed that any human that came to Underground be killed. She said that the path ahead would be full of monsters that would want to harm you. They would try to take your soul and she could not protect you once you left the ruins. Something settled over you during that conversation. It was just a nagging whim at first, but it slowly blossomed into a desire that haunted your every waking moment. Then the dreams came, full of hushed whispers telling that you couldn't stay. You wanted to ignore them, but...

Somewhere deep inside you knew you had to go.

It broke your heart when you said goodbye. She tried to challenge you to a fight, to determine if you could handle leaving for the rest of Underground, but you could never raise a hand to hurt her. She only ever wanted to keep you safe and could not bring herself to hurt you either. It was a bittersweet farewell, in which she told you to never come back, but also she wrapped you into one of her warm, comforting hugs that you had gotten used to.

You had to keep going.

You stepped through the large, purple door and as it shut behind you on its own, a strong sense of finality passed over you. There would be no going back. A long, purple corridor stretched out before you. Another large, dark doorway loomed before you and crossed into a dark room. Sunlight trickled down from holes in the ceiling, lighting of patches of the ground, and you were struck by how familiar this was to when you first arrived.

“Clever, very clever. You think you’re pretty smart, don’t ya?”

You froze. Appearing as suddenly as a ghost, Flowey was sitting in a patch of light smirking at you. You didn’t dare take a step closer, knowing that Toriel would not be coming to save you this time and you were no stronger than before. You didn’t want to fight.

“In this world, it’s kill or be killed. You think you can continue on, playing by your own rules? How far do you think you’re going to get like that?”

Flowey laughed fiercely, a very hollow and unamused sound.  

“So you saved one person’s life. This time. What will you do when you come up against someone that won't stop fighting? A relentless killer. You’ll die and die and die. Until you tire of trying. What will you do then?”

You didn’t know how to respond. How could you die more than once?  The flower wasn’t making an sense, but there was one thing you could be absolutely sure of. You didn’t want to hurt anyone.

“Will you kill out of frustration?”

Never.

“Will you give up on this world entirely and let me inherit the power to control it?”

You blinked, confused. Power? What power? How were you stopping this insane flower in any way?

Flowey’s smile grew more ferocious.

“Oh, you don’t know? You don’t remember?” Flowey sneered. “But you will.”

You took another step back. You wanted to go back to Toriel. To be safe. But you knew that there was nothing for you back there.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you now. This is _so_ much more interesting.”

With that ominous threat hanging in the air, Flowey’s face transformed until it no longer resembled a flower. Flowey’s huge, terrifying smile sent shivers down your back and he let out a maniacal laugh that chilled you to your core. Then he disappeared right into the ground.

The path was open to you now and you could see another doorway ahead. Your heart was pounding in your chest. There was no way to know what lay ahead and Flowey seemed to be plotting something. You had never felt so unsure, but…

You were determined to keep moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all know what's coming next, right?


	4. Pals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally.

Snow.

Leaving behind Toriel, Flowey, and the long corridor, you had walked through one last door to find yourself in a winter wonderland. Snow crunched underneath your feet and giant trees loomed on either side of a path. You didn’t know anything like this could exist underground, especially the trees! But then again, there was Flowey…

Thinking about that monstrous flower only filled you with dread. You pushed it from your mind and kept going down the path, wrapping your arms around your torso to keep warm. Above ground, the mountains had been somewhat cool but it was autumn up there. You had not been dressed for this sort of weather and as your breath gathered like small puffs of smoke before your face, you longed for a sunny beach and a thick sweater.

Sitting along the path was a thick branch that you could have probably lifted out of the way, but it was easy to go over it. You put one foot on it and stepped across. As you put your weight on the branch, it snapped loudly into pieces. You looked down and saw that there was a perfectly good stick there.

You looked at it for a short moment, considering picking it up. Maybe it would be good to have some sort of defense. Just in case…

No. You left the stick on the ground and continued forward. You wouldn’t need the stick or any other weapon. That wasn’t who you were.

After a few moments, you became aware of footsteps behind you. There was the expected sound of snow packing with your every step, and another, very distinct set of footfalls after you. You stopped, hopping it was just an echo, and listened. The footsteps continued.

You turned quickly. The path behind you was empty, no tracks in the snow. You must have imagined it, though you could have sworn that you had felt the presence of another. Following you…

You turned around, thinking that maybe the encounter with Flowey had made you paranoid. There was a bridge ahead and there seemed to be a very poorly constructed gate built around it. The bars were so wide that you probably could walk right through them. Just as you about to step across the bridge, you could hear the footsteps behind you once more and they were much closer this time.

They got louder and louder until finally they stopped, the sensation of another’s presence directly behind you. You started to turn slowly, shaking. You wanted to blame it on the cold, but you were scared out of your wits.

"Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

Skeleton.

A skeleton was standing behind you, with its bony hand offered to you. He was wearing a hooded, blue jacket over a white turtleneck, basketball shorts, and black sneakers. By whatever magic monsters were made up of, the skeleton had no skin or tendons, but managed to stay together anyways. He was smiling at you almost expectedly with two tiny, white blips of light glowing in his otherwise empty eye sockets.

You did the only thing you could think of.

You put your hand in his and shook. As soon as you did, a loud, high-pitched whine sounded, accompanied by the sputtering sound of quickly released air. It sounded an awful lot like a...

“The old whoopie cushion in the hand trick,” the skeleton said in a low deep voice, without moving its jaw or relenting his smile, and gave a quick chuckle. “It’s _always_ funny.”

You didn’t know what you expected. After goat-mom and homicidal flowers, there were a million ways that could have gone. The very last thing you expected was a…prank?

“Anyways, you’re a human, right? That’s hilarious,” he continued, as if your stunned silence was nothing new to him. “I’m Sans. Sans the skeleton.”

You went to tell him your name in return, but your jaw had stopped working. All you could do was chatter your teeth at him. A strong gust a wind decided to blow through, cutting you to the quick and you ducked your head down, trying to ward off the chill with your meager shirt.

“You look _chilled to the bone_ ,” Sans the skeleton said, winking at you and you might have laughed, were you not shaking so hard. His smile fell a little, if that was even possible.“Hey...I’m supposed to be on the watch for humans, but I don’t really care about capturing anyone. Let’s just get you warmed up for now.”

Then to your surprise, Sans slipped his jacket off his shoulders and wrapped it around yours. It was thicker than it looked, surprising that a skeleton would need such a warm, cozy coat, the inside and the hood was lined with grey fur. Sans waited until you had slipped your arms through the sleeves and then he zipped it up to your chin. You looked up at him meekly, hoping your appreciation was obvious on your face.

“Come on,” he said. “It’ll be warmer at my sentry station.”

You wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he didn’t give you the chance. He continued on through the bridge and as you suspected, the bars were definitely too far apart to stop anyone. You trudged right along behind him. On the other side of the bridge was indeed what looked like an outpost of some kind and oddly enough, a tall lamp was just sitting on the side of the path.

“Don’t ask. It’s a really long story,” Sans said when he noticed you looking at it. “Over here.”

He led you to the back of the outpost, opened the door, and nodded for you to go inside. You stepped in and immediately warm air washed over you. Apart from having walls to shield you against the wind and snow, there was a tiny box heater in the corner of the small room that worked extremely well. The front opened up to a counter, like a shop window, probably so whoever was inside could watch the path and there were two chairs sitting there. Sans did say it was a sentry station.

“Magic fire,” Sans explained, his wide smile seeming like a permanent fixture on his...er, skull. “Really _brings the heat_.”

This time you had warmed up enough to laugh, just a little, and his grin grew fuller on his skull. He sat down in one of the chairs and you followed, sitting in the chair next to him. Despite the front of the sentry station being open to the outside, the heater kept a nice bubble of heat around you so you didn’t even feel the cold anymore.

“What’s the name, kid?” he asked, propping his elbow on the counter and resting his chin in his hand. “Though, you don’t really look like a kid. You humans are so strange.”

The walking, talking skeleton was telling you that you were strange? You told him your name and he nodded, as if this is what he had been waiting for all along.

“Well, it’s _ice_ to meet you,” Sans told you, winking once more and you chuckled.

“Thank you,” you told him “I really was freezing out there. I don’t know how much farther I would have gotten without you.”

“Wow, don’t go getting all sentimental on me, kid,” he said. “You’re giving me _chills_.”

You laughed harder. This guy was really full of jokes. He seemed pleased by your response.

“Well, now that we’ve _broke the ice_ a little--”

Suddenly there was yelling from outside.

“Sans!”

You jumped a little, surprised, and glanced at the skeleton nervously. He met your gaze for a long moment, which was a little unsettling since he had no real eyeballs, but you were getting way too used to all of this monster stuff. He didn’t seemed concerned however, since he was still smiling.

“Hide under the counter,” he whispered.

You didn’t hesitate, sliding off the chair and crouching underneath the counter. Just as you did, you could hear the crunch of approaching footsteps. Your heart picked up the pace, pounding so loudly in your chest that you hoped that whoever it was couldn’t hear. Sans did say that he was supposed to capture humans, not offer them bad puns and shelter from the elements…

“Sup, bro?” Sans asked whoever was on the other side of the outpost.

“You know what’s ‘sup,’ brother! It’s been eight days and you haven’t calibrated your puzzles!” the loud voice emphasized.

You peeked through a crack in the wooden structure and you could just barely make out the figure. It was another skeleton! This new skeleton was definitely not dressed for the weather, wearing a red cape, red boots, red gloves, white crop top, and tiny blue shorts.He was very tall and thin, making you realize that Sans was short and wide. How that worked, you weren’t sure.

“You only hang around your post! What are you even doing?” the skeleton asked.

“Just hanging out in the sentry station. It’s super cozy in here,” Sans told him nonchalantly. “Wanna come inside and join me?”

Fear shot through you like a bolt of lightning. You looked up at Sans in panic, but he just kept smiling at the other skeleton. What was he doing? Why tell you to hide if he was just going to give you away?

“No! What if a human comes through here!” the unnamed skeleton strongly protested. “I want to be ready!”

Very briefly, San’s small white light pupils flickered down to you in his eyes sockets and his grin grew just a fraction. He knew that would happen. You had to cover your hand with your mouth to stifle your laughter.

“I must be the one! I will be the one! I will capture a human! Then, I, the great Papyrus will get all of the things I utterly deserve! Respect...recognition...I will finally be able to join the royal guard,” the new skeleton, Papyrus, raved on. “People will ask...to be...my friend? I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning!”

Sans’ shoulders were shaking ever so slightly as if he were holding back silent laughter and you were startled to hear his bones rattling together underneath his clothes. Somehow that made this all the more hilarious and you were barely containing your giggles now.

“Maybe if you come sit in here for a bit, it’ll help,” Sans offered. “A quick break might hold the answer to all of yours problems.”

“Sans! You’re not helping! You lazybones! All you do is sit and boondoggle!” Papyrus howled. “You get lazier and lazier everyday!”

“Hey, take it easy. I’ve got a _ton_ of work done today,” Sans said. “A skele- _ton_.”

“Sans!” Papyrus yelled while Sans winked at him.

“Come on. You’re smiling,” Sans told him.

“I am and I hate it!” Papyus said and he sighed, looking away. “Why does someone as great as me...have to do so much just to get some recognition?”

“Wow, sounds like you’re really working yourself…” Sans started, winking again. “... _down to the bone_.”

Papyrus groaned and you stuffed your face in Sans’ coat, snickering as quietly as you could. Sans just never quit!

“I will attend to my puzzles! As for your work?” Papyrus said. “Put a little more _backbone_ into it!”

Papyrus laughed at his own joke and you could hear his footsteps heading away from the outpost. You were about to sit up when Sans’ skeletal fingers came to rest on your head, pressing gently to keep you down there. Just as you were about to question him, you could hear Papyrus give one last hoot of laughter and then silence.

“Okay, kid, you can come up now,” he announced, looking down at you.

You climbed back into your seat, still laughing quietly to yourself about their back and forth. Sans was hilarious. It was odd. When you heard the word monster, you didn’t imagine anyone like Sans or Toriel…

But Flowey made sense.

You sobered up at the thought.

“Thank you again,” you insisted, reaching up for the zipper on the jacket so you could return it to him.

“Hang on to it for a little longer,” he told you. “I don’t need it as much as you do.”

“Oh,” you said, feeling a little unsure about that gesture. “If you’re sure…”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Listen, buddy. Papyrus really wants to capture a human and he has all sorts of puzzles set up to slow you down, but he’s actually pretty harmless. Actually, in return for using my coat, could you do me a favor?”

You swallowed heavily, instantly nervous. Here it came. No hospitality was truly free, right?

“Could you play along for a little bit?” Sans asked. “It would really make him happy to see a human. I’ll keep my eye socket on you and make sure you don’t get into any trouble.”

That wasn’t what you were expecting either. Sans just kept throwing you for a loop. Every word out of his mouth was a pleasant surprise. Playing along with the puzzles didn’t sound too terrible and…

...it was the least you could do for your new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys. I promise there is a reason for everything.


	5. Test

“Do not fret, human! It’s very warm inside!”

You gladly followed Papyrus into his house, shivering once again despite Sans’ coat. He had let you borrow it throughout all of the puzzles Papyrus had thrown at you and even let you hang onto it during the battle. He watched from a distance too, just like he said he would, but it turned out that there was no need.

Papyrus couldn’t hurt a fly and he was honestly more interested in being your friend, so he had kindly decided to “spare” you after you had avoided all of his attacks. Unfortunately your shoes weren’t made for romping around in the snow and were completely soaked through, turning your feet into blocks of ice the longer you stayed outside. As soon as you were inside, you immediately dropped down to strip off your shoes and socks.

“Will you be alright, human?”

Papyrus was watching you with concern, hovering over you as you rubbed your feet gently. Blood began to flow through them again and other than a few, sharp pinpricks of pain as your feet adjusted to the heat, they would be fine. You looked up at him to smile reassuringly and near yelped because Sans was suddenly standing there beside him. You didn’t see or hear him come up, because he had left before Papyrus spared you and didn’t walk back with you. Maybe he beat you home and you just didn’t see him when you came in?  

“Aw, kid,” he teased, looking down at your purple toes and his ever-present smile was still in place. “Didn’t I tell you not to let the _frost bite_?”

“Sans! Now is not the time for jokes!” Papyrus loudly bickered. “Can you not see that the human is injured?”

“I’m fine, guys. Really,” you assured them, smiling at the way they talked to each other. They seemed to have a really good relationship for brothers. “My shoes will need to dry for awhile though if I want to avoid losing some toes.”

“Humans can lose toes?” Papyrus asked, sounding horrified. “I do not think you were put together very well.”

Sans chuckled at Papyrus and he glanced over at your shoes.

“You’re not really well prepared this time,” Sans mumbled quietly, almost to himself.

“What?” you asked him, curious.

“Never mind,” Sans dismissed, turning towards the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

“Human,” Papyrus announced, drawing your eyes away from his brother. “I, too, will be right back. I must go recalibrate my puzzles just in case another, mean human comes. There is plenty of my delicious spaghetti in the fridge. Please make yourself at home while I am away.”

“Thank you, Papyrus,” you said warmly, gratitude swelling in your chest at the skeleton’s overwhelming generosity for a complete stranger. “I’m really happy that we are friends.”

Somehow, despite all possible logic of how a skeleton was supposed to function, Papyrus’ cheekbones turned rosy as he blushed. You didn’t even question it at this point. Magic monster stuff.

“I am also glad to be your friend, human,” Papyrus agreed, a huge smile on his face. “It was a good decision to spare you. I will be back soon and we can continue to bond!”

Papyrus left in a flurry of movement and you found yourself laughing once you were alone. That skeleton really wore his heart on his sleeve! If he had a heart…?

“Something funny?”

You jumped, eyes shooting up to the figure standing where Papyrus had just been. Somehow Sans had materialized out of thin air again, without making any sort of sound. He noticed your surprise and his grin became a little fuller on his face.

“Chill, buddy,” Sans soothed, holding up both of his hands as if in surrender. “I’m not gonna hurt ya.”

You had raised both of your hands up to your chest in defense, thinking of your soul and your first instinct was to protect it. Which was strange, because Sans hadn’t threatened you in any way since you met him, but there was something lingering in the back of your mind that was just out of reach...like a forgotten dream. It made you wary and you didn’t know why.

“Haha, sorry,” you muttered, looking down at your shoes and you fidgeted with them, flipping them upside down to dry. “I guess I’m just a little jumpy. You know...the whole ‘capture the human and take their soul’ thing.”

Sans didn’t say anything for a long time and you were forced to look up at him. You met his gaze evenly and for some reason it didn’t feel awkward at all. Just for that moment it was if that was the most normal, comfortable thing to do. Then you noticed that he was holding a bulging, black satchel in one hand.

“What’s that?” you asked, curious.

Sans lightly tossed the bag in your direction and it flopped to the ground beside you. The satchel landed on it’s side and out fell a black snow boot. Reaching into the bag, you pulled out the other boot, a red turtleneck sweater, red gloves, black sweatpants, fuzzy black socks, and a coat. You looked up at him in confusion.

“I just figured you could use something more suited Snowdin,” Sans’ elaborated, shrugging. “So you can keep your toes for a little longer.”

That’s when you realized you were still wearing his coat. You could feel your face burning up in embarrassment. What a nice way to ask for his coat back! You quickly unzipped it and handed it to him, looking down at the carpet shamefully.

“I’m sorry,” you stressed. “I didn’t mean to hang onto it for so long.”

“About time,” Sans jabbed and you looked up to see that he was just teasing, a genuine smile on his face.

“Are you sure about letting me use these?” you asked, letting your hand rest on the coat. “I promise I’m not trying to take all of your clothes.”

“Yeah,” Sans’ confirmed easily. “It’s just some old stuff I don’t wear anymore. I should have thrown it out awhile ago.”

It was almost identical to Sans’ own coat, with grey fur lining the insides and hood. You picked it up and the smell immediately made your nose twitch. It had the same smell that all clothes did when they had been sitting in a closet for a long time, musty and dusty, but all of it looked brand new. You tried to picture Sans’ wearing any of this, all of it so different from his current outfit and you just couldn’t imagine it.

“Well, thank you. Let me buy them from you,” you floundered, digging around in your pockets for the gold you had accumulated along the way.

Sans held up a hand.

“Don’t worry about it,” he insisted, “Keep the bag too. I’ll never use it.”

You hesitated, considering his words. He was being so kind to you that you didn’t know what to say. Underground was turning out to be nothing like Flowey had said. You might have pondered that a little longer, but your stomach growled very suddenly and loudly. You didn’t even need to look up at the skeleton to know that he had heard it too.

“Heh, do you like glitter?” Sans asked, smirking again.

“What?” you asked, staring up at the skeleton like he had lost his mind.

“You’re not going to like Papyrus’ spaghetti much if you don’t like glitter,” he went on. “It’s his secret ingredient. He says it makes the food pretty and sparkly.”

Oh. You didn’t think that would sit well with your stomach. Just as you were trying to think of a polite way to turn down the meal, Sans chuckled.

“Get changed and we’ll go grab a bite to eat. I know a shortcut.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all of the feedback! I can't believe people are already leaving kudos and comments. This little side-project of mine really was just for fun. I'm glad other people are enjoying it too!


	6. Realization

Magic stuff made you dizzy.

You had stepped through Papyrus’ front door to find yourself suddenly standing at the entrance to a restaurant in the middle of town. You looked up to read the sign on the roof and it read: “Grillby’s.” You glanced at Sans for some sort of explanation for the sudden change in scenery, but he offered none and opened the door for you to enter first. Instantly someone called out as the door shut behind you.

“Hey, Sans!”

“Hey, Florence. Patrice. Shouldn’t you be in school?”

Sans was talking to two girls sitting at a table near the door and they were wearing sailor school uniforms. One of the girls seemed to be made of entirely of green flames and she looked happy to see him, despite having no mouth. The other girl was purple, with swooping bangs, dark red eyes, and a backwards red ballcap on her head. You had no idea what she was and she looked a lot less excited to see Sans.

“They cancelled classes for the day because a bunch of traps suddenly activated near school,” Florence, the flame girl, said in a bubbly voice. “So we came to say hi to dad and get some lunch.”

Glancing past all of the tables and towards the bar in the back of the room, you recognized a man made entirely out of red flames. He was dressed very professionally in a white dress shirt, black vest and bowtie, and glasses. Sans raised a hand in greeting to the man and he nodded wordlessly back, continuing to dry glasses behind the bar.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Patrice asked, sounding a little sour.

“Not today, kid,” Sans told them. “I took a personal day.”

“Who are you?” Florence asked, acknowledging you, but not rudely. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

“An old friend,” Sans answered before you could and he reached back to grab your hand. “I’ll talk at you girls later.”

“Okay, bye!” Florence said cheerfully while Patrice barely lifted her hand in farewell.

Sans’ skeletal fingers were cold to the touch, closing around yours and they were so strange, so alien that you couldn’t help but stare at them. He led you to an open booth far from the door and waited for you to sit first. Other people called out greetings to both of you, most of whom you had encountered on your way into town, and Sans acknowledged them warmly while you awkwardly waved back at them. You sat down and he scooted in across from you.

“You’re a pretty popular guy,” you remarked.

“What’s not to love?” Sans asked cheekily, smirking at you.

Just then a server came to the table, an orange, furry creature with green eyes and horns. They were dressed pretty similarly to the bartender, except they wore a black apron around their waist and a nametag that read: "Adair." They held a notepad and pen in their hands, apparently to take your order.

“Hey, bone daddy,” Adair greeted in a husky, velvet voice. “What can I get you today?”

“I’m not sure,” Sans responded, not seeming ruffled at all by the pet name so it must have been a normal thing. “Burgers and fries sound good?”

“Sure,” you agreed, once again being surprised by how similar monster food was to human food. It just made it all the more apparent that they had once roamed the surface alongside humans.

“What would you like to drink?” Adair asked you, not Sans, as they scribbled in their notepad.

“Water will be fine, thank you,” you replied.

“I’ll have that right out for you guys,” Adair said, turning to leave.

“Bone daddy?” you hissed, leaning across the table so as to ensure that no one heard you and you couldn’t contain your giggles. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m Sans,” he smoothly answered and his shit-eating grin was back. “I think you have me mixed up with another skeleton, buddy.”

You instantly groaned, covering your face in your hands, but you were smiling behind them. He really had an answer for everything. Almost like he had practiced.

“Here you go,” Adair announced, coming back to the table and they sat your glass of water down. “I put your order in. It’ll just be a little while.”

“Thank you, darling,” Sans drawled sweetly. “You always take such good care of me.”

If Sans had eyebrows to waggle suggestively, you were sure he would have, Adair simpered, looking very pleased, and gave Sans a wink before leaving for their other tables. That looked a lot like flirting if you ever saw it. The entire exchange left you embarrassed and flustered.

“Are you two together?” you were whispering again.

“Why?” Sans asked, resting his chin in his hand as he smirked at you from across the table. “Are you the jealous type?”

You felt all of the blood in your body pull to your face and you sputtered, at loss for a proper response. Sans laughed, watching your reaction, and you quickly picked up your glass to take a sip of the ice water, as if it would cool your burning cheeks. He followed your lead, but instead picked up the red, squirt bottle of ketchup.

"Bottoms up," he said.

You thought this was another one of his jokes and you started laughing. Then he tilted the bottle back to his mouth, parted his teeth ever so slightly, and chugged it all down. You couldn't see your own face, but you were sure it was a mix between horrified and queasy. He sat the bottle down and winked at you.

"That hit the spot."

...what even....

“Can I ask you a question?” Sans suddenly spoke up, directing your thoughts away from the ketchup spectacle. 

“You just did,” you quickly shot at him.

“Okay, fair enough,” Sans snickered. “What’s your plan?”

“What do you mean?” you asked, furrowing your brow at him.

“What are you going to do now?” he pressed. “Are you going to go to the Capital and try to get back to the surface?”

The suggestion of going back to the surface made your breath catch in your throat as fear choked you. You had just been barreling forward, not really thinking that far ahead. There had been this unexplainable, nagging feeling, tugging at you from under your skin, and telling you to leave Toriel. Keep going until you found...something, but you didn’t know what. The feeling had faded however, probably about the same time you had entered Sans’ sentry station.

“I don’t want to go back,” you mumbled under your breath.

“What?”

Finally saying it aloud cleared your muddled thoughts. You couldn’t stand your life before and had tried your hardest to escape from it. Now you had found a place full of kind and friendly people. Maybe...just maybe you could make a new life here?

“I don’t want to go back,” you declared, firmer and louder this time. “I want to stay here.”

You looked up at Sans, not sure what to expect. For just the smallest split second, it looked like the corners of his mouth were curving slightly downwards in a frown. Then you blinked and his smile was back. You must have imagined it.

“Sounds like a plan, kid."


	7. Replay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: For anyone that prefers "they/them" rather than "you" when the story is from Sans' perspective, I added an edited version under a break below and will do so for future chapters that are from Sans' perspective. Just so it's not confusing for anyone. Thanks for all of the feedback!

For the first time in forever…

“Are you comfortable, friend?”

...Sans didn’t know what to do.

“Yes, thank you, Papyrus.”

You were sitting on their couch looking sleepy-eyed, with an extra pillow and blanket sitting beside you. Since Papyrus’ clothes were too big on you, Sans had lent you a spare pair of pajama pants and a loose t-shirt. You had also used their shower, your hair messy and damp. It was all so domestic…

...and agonizing.

“I’ll go to the inn first thing tomorrow,” you began, looking sheepishly up at Papyrus. “I’m sorry for relying on your hospitality so much.”

“Nonsense!” Papyrus shot down, looking personally affronted at the idea. “You will stay here with us! What else are friends for?”

You laughed nervously and then frowned ever so slightly, looking somewhat unsure. Then you seemed to sense Sans’ gaze on you because you glanced over and caught him staring. When he did not looking away, the color came back to your cheeks and you hunched your shoulders, as if you were trying to shrink from sight. It made you seem so naive and innocent.

This had never happened before.

Just what were you playing at now?

“Goodnight, my human friend, sleep well! Time for the bed, brother,” his brother called loudly, bringing Sans out of his stupor, and Papyrus was already halfway to his room.

“Be right there, bro,” Sans replied, lingering at the bottom of the stairs with one hand on the handrail.

He glanced back at you, surprised to see you looking down at an old, outdated cellphone. You clutched it between your hands, regarding it as if it were something extremely precious. He had seen the phone before, of course, but it was your expression that was new. You looked so…

...lost.

“Night,” Sans blurted out before he could stop himself. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to wake up Papyrus.”

You raised your eyes to him, that small, uncertain smile playing on your lips and he was rooted to the spot. He didn’t have lungs or need to breathe, but he suddenly felt like he was suffocating. You looked so innocuous, just sitting there in his old t-shirt and completely oblivious to everything. Somehow this was almost worse than being enemies, like a glaring reminder of what he couldn’t have.

“Goodnight, Sans,” you replied softly, your lips twisting into an all too familiar grin. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

He told himself that this time would be different. He swore not to fall for your tricks ever again. He just could not handle another round of this horrible game anymore and refused to play along. Then you smiled at him just like that and...

“Sans!”

Papyrus was calling for him and he chuckled, the noise sounding a little bitter even to him. He had to force himself to look away and go upstairs. When he opened Papyrus’ door, he found his brother already changed into PJs and in his bed, waiting impatiently.

“There you are, Sans,” Papyrus chirped as he walked in. “I was beginning to think you had gone to bed first.”

“Without a bedtime story?” Sans asked, heading directly to the bookcase beside the closet. “I would never dream of it, Pap.”

“It has been a most exciting day,” Papyrus chattered on. “I saw my first human, we bonded through sparring and spaghetti, and now we are friends!”

“Yeah. Something like that only happens once in a lifetime,” Sans agreed, trying his hardest not to sound snarky and letting his phalanges absentmindedly trace over the spines of the neatly placed books on the shelf. “So which one will it be tonight, bro?”

Papyrus rattled off some random comic and Sans snagged it from the shelf, sitting on the edge of the bed to read it aloud. Papyrus had obviously worn himself out that day because Sans didn’t get more than a chapter or so in before he could hear his brother quietly snoring. Sans returned the book to the shelf, tucked the blanket under Papyrus’ chest, and turned the light off before he left.

As he shut the door behind him, he leaned against it and sighed heavily. His bones felt a thousand times heavier than usual. It was always this way at the start.

He looked down over the loft and could see that the lights were off downstairs. It was quiet, no TV or anything. You must have already fallen asleep too. That made Sans feel more relieved than he liked to admit, knowing that you weren’t up prowling around the house in the dead of night…

Not that he would be able to sleep tonight anyways.

He moved quietly down the stairs, so as to not disturb you. You were curled up into a small ball on the couch, bundled up tightly in the blanket and had your back to the room. Sans stopped on his way into the kitchen, listening. He could hear you breathing…

...in ragged, short gasps and sniffling occasionally.

You were crying?

Sans reached out at first, wanting nothing more than to pull you into his arms and tell you every corny line he had until you smiled again. His fists clenched, the sense of déjà vu crashing over him like a tidal wave, and he took a step back towards the stairs. Been there, done that. He took another step backwards and his foot connected with something, a loud clattering noise sounding throughout the quiet house. He looked down frantically, just barely making out the bag he had loaned to you sitting on the ground beside the stairs and he had knocked it over.

“P-Papyrus?”

Shit.

You were sitting up now, facing him and rubbing your squinting eyes as you tried to make him out in the darkness. You were illuminated by the light from the street lamps, spilling in through the window. Two glistening trails streaked down your cheeks and chin. The urge to kiss them away made his jaw tighten.

“Ah...Guess again?” Sans stammered, knowing that he probably looked pretty flustered and he hated it.

“Oh, Sans,” you replied and he could see you hastily wiping away your tears.

“Sorry, kid. I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Sans appealed, trying to casually ignore your obvious tears and he quickly shuffled into the kitchen. “I just came down for a class of water. Don’t let me bother you.”

“You’re not bothering me,” you told him as he walked past.

“Do you want anything?” he called back from the kitchen and he flipped on the light. “We don’t have much in the food department unless you’re feeling brave. Papyrus has been trying really hard and it’s not that bad for him. If he keeps up on his cooking lessons he might even be able to make something edible soon. There’s some milk and juice and stuff like that though…”

He was rambling. He hadn’t done that in so many resets. Probably not since the very first time you had fallen into their lives…

“No, thank you.”

He heard you quietly laughing at his words just as he was opening up the cabinet for a glass and he had to place both hands on the counter to steady himself. Why couldn’t he bring himself to hate you? He sighed, accepting defeat, and grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. He came back into the living room just a few moments later, watching his step so he didn’t stumble over anything else, and he had two mugs of hot cocoa in his hands.

“Alright, weepy,” Sans dictated. “Scoot your boot.”

You complied without a word, dragging your blanket with you and you sat cross-legged on the far side of the couch. Sans held one of the steaming mugs out to you and you accepted it, wrapping your hands around it as if to warm your fingers. Your embarrassment was written all of your face, pulling a chuckle from his mouth and your little frown deepened. Maybe he should stop teasing you...just this once.

“Wanna talk about it, buddy?” he offered. “I don't have ears but I'm a real good listener.”

You shook your head, but your expression cleared as if you wanted to laugh at him, but hadn't mustered up the energy yet. That’s right. You hadn’t got to that part yet. You were still warming up to him and that took time. That was fine because he had a better idea.

“Wanna hear a joke?”

You nodded, still looking down at the mug of hot cocoa as if the answer to all of your problems were swirling around in there with the marshmallows. Hot chocolate had always made you feel better before and hopefully you still liked it because he hadn’t thought to check before he made it for you. He mulled it over, trying to think of a really good one. Something that would turn that frown upside down.

“Okay, wanna know why skeletons are so calm?” he asked, taking a long drag of his cocoa and then smirking at you.

“Why?” you asked, your brows knitting together as you tried to think of the answer.

“Because nothing gets under their skin.”

“Pfft.”

There it was. Your lips twitched upwards for just the shortest second and he felt pretty good about himself. He could do better than that though.

“Did you think that was _humerus_?” Sans continued and you were giving him a full blown smile now. “Do you know what skeletons order when they go out to eat?”

“Bottles of ketchup?” you quipped.

“Heh, no, that’s just me,” he replied. “I was going to say spare _ribs_.”

“Oh, man! I thought for sure you were going to say a t- _bone_ steak!”

“Hey, not too shabby, kid. Why didn’t I think of that? Probably because I’m a numb _skull_.”

You continued to exchange silly gags, cracking each other up until you had to shush and remind one another not to wake up Papyrus. Your mugs had long been emptied, the hot cocoa working its magic on you, and Sans had surpassed that slap-happy-tired state where everything was hilarious. It didn’t take much longer for the shared titters to turn into long yawns and droopy eyes. He had only meant to rest his eye sockets for a moment...

He woke up with a start, unsure of how much time had passed, and there was a weight pressed against his side. At first he thought it was Papyrus, cozying up to him after a bad dream like he used to when he was just a baby bones, and then he remembered. It was hard to see in the dark room, but he could feel his arm wrapped snuggly around your torso and your head was buried in the joint below his shoulder. You must have decided to share your blanket too, since both of you were bundled up together.

He leaned his skull against the back of the couch and stared up the ceiling blankly, reveling in your closeness. It had been many, many timelines since you had let him get close like this. He wished he could say that he had forgotten in that time what it felt like to have you in his arms, but that would be a lie. He wrapped his other arm around you and gently pulled you closer, too exhausted to fight the impulse any more. Not when you were right here beside him and playing nice this time. That is exactly why he never made promises…

Not even to himself.

\---"they/them/their"---

For the first time in forever…

“Are you comfortable, friend?”

...Sans didn’t know what to do.

“Yes, thank you, Papyrus.”

They were sitting on the couch looking sleepy-eyed, with an extra pillow and blanket sitting beside them. Since Papyrus’ clothes were too big on them, Sans had lent them a spare pair of pajama pants and a loose t-shirt. They had also used the shower, their hair messy and damp. It was all so domestic…

...and agonizing.

“I’ll go to the inn first thing tomorrow,” they began, looking sheepishly up at Papyrus. “I’m sorry for relying on your hospitality so much.”

“Nonsense!” Papyrus shot down, looking personally affronted at the idea. “You will stay here with us! What else are friends for?”

They laughed nervously and then frowned ever so slightly, looking somewhat unsure. Then they seemed to sense Sans’ gaze on them because they glanced over and caught him staring. When he did not looking away, the color came back to their cheeks and they hunched their shoulders, as if they were trying to shrink from sight. It made them seem so naive and innocent.

This had never happened before.

Just what were they playing at now?

“Goodnight, my human friend, sleep well! Time for the bed, brother,” his brother called loudly, bringing Sans out of his stupor, and Papyrus was already halfway to his room.

“Be right there, bro,” Sans replied, lingering at the bottom of the stairs with one hand on the handrail.

He glanced back at them, surprised to see them looking down at an old, outdated cellphone. They clutched it between their hands, regarding it as if it were something extremely precious. He had seen the phone before, of course, but it was their expression that was new. They looked so…

...lost.

“Night,” Sans blurted out before he could stop himself. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to wake up Papyrus.”

They raised their eyes to him, that small, uncertain smile playing on their lips and he was rooted to the spot. He didn’t have lungs or need to breathe, but he suddenly felt like he was suffocating. They looked so innocuous, just sitting there in his old t-shirt and completely oblivious to everything. Somehow this was almost worse than being enemies, like a glaring reminder of what he couldn’t have.

“Goodnight, Sans,” they replied softly, their lips twisting into an all too familiar grin. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

He told himself that this time would be different. He swore not to fall for their tricks ever again. He just could not handle another round of this horrible game anymore and refused to play along. Then they smiled at him just like that and…

“Sans!”

Papyrus was calling for him and he chuckled, the noise sounding a little bitter even to him. He had to force himself to look away and go upstairs. When he opened Papyrus’ door, he found his brother already changed into PJs and in his bed, waiting impatiently.

“There you are, Sans,” Papyrus chirped as he walked in. “I was beginning to think you had gone to bed first.”

“Without a bedtime story?” Sans asked, heading directly to the bookcase beside the closet. “I would never dream of it, Pap.”

“It has been a most exciting day,” Papyrus chattered on. “I saw my first human, we bonded through sparring and spaghetti, and now we are friends!”

“Yeah. Something like that only happens once in a lifetime,” Sans agreed, trying his hardest not to sound snarky and letting his phalanges absentmindedly trace over the spines of the neatly placed books on the shelf. “So which one will it be tonight, bro?”

Papyrus rattled off some random comic and Sans snagged it from the shelf, sitting on the edge of the bed to read it aloud. Papyrus had obviously worn himself out that day because Sans didn’t get more than a chapter or so in before he could hear his brother quietly snoring. Sans returned the book to the shelf, tucked the blanket under Papyrus’ chest, and turned the light off before he left.

As he shut the door behind him, he leaned against it and sighed heavily. His bones felt a thousand times heavier than usual. It was always this way at the start.

He looked down over the loft and could see that the lights were off downstairs. It was quiet, no TV or anything. They must have already fallen asleep too. That made Sans feel more relieved than he liked to admit, knowing that they weren’t up prowling around the house in the dead of night…

Not that he would be able to sleep tonight anyways.

He moved quietly down the stairs, so as to not disturb them. They were curled up into a small ball on the couch, bundled up tightly in the blanket and had their back to the room. Sans stopped on his way into the kitchen, listening. He could hear them breathing…

...in ragged, short gasps and sniffling occasionally.

They were crying?

Sans reached out at first, wanting nothing more than to pull them into his arms and tell them every corny line he had until they smiled again. His fists clenched, the sense of déjà vu crashing over him like a tidal wave, and he took a step back towards the stairs. Been there, done that. He took another step backwards and his foot connected with something, a loud clattering noise sounding throughout the quiet house. He looked down frantically, just barely making out the bag he had loaned to them sitting on the ground beside the stairs and he had knocked it over.

“P-Papyrus?”

Shit.

They were sitting up now, facing him and rubbing their squinting eyes as they tried to make him out in the darkness. They were illuminated by the light from the street lamps, spilling in through the window. Two glistening trails streaked down their cheeks and chin. The urge to kiss them away made his jaw tighten.

“Ah...Guess again?” Sans stammered, knowing that he probably looked pretty flustered and he hated it.

“Oh, Sans,” they replied and he could see them hastily wiping away their tears.

“Sorry, kid. I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Sans appealed, trying to casually ignore their obvious tears and he quickly shuffled into the kitchen. “I just came down for a class of water. Don’t let me bother you.”

“You’re not bothering me,” they told him as he walked past.

“Do you want anything?” he called back from the kitchen and he flipped on the light. “We don’t have much in the food department unless you’re feeling brave. Papyrus has been trying really hard and it’s not that bad for him. If he keeps up on his cooking lessons he might even be able to make something edible soon. There’s some milk and juice and stuff like that though…”

He was rambling. He hadn’t done that in so many resets. Probably not since the very first time they had fallen into their lives…

“No, thank you.”

He heard them quietly laughing at his words just as he was opening up the cabinet for a glass and he had to place both hands on the counter to steady himself. Why couldn’t he bring himself to hate them? He sighed, accepting defeat, and grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. He came back into the living room just a few moments later, watching his step so he didn’t stumble over anything else, and he had two mugs of hot cocoa in his hands.

“Alright, weepy,” Sans dictated. “Scoot your boot.”

They complied without a word, dragging their blanket with them and they sat cross-legged on the far side of the couch. Sans held one of the steaming mugs out to them and they accepted it, wrapping their hands around it as if to warm their fingers. Their embarrassment was written all of their face, pulling a chuckle from his mouth and their little frown deepened. Maybe he should stop teasing them ...just this once.

“Wanna talk about it, buddy?” he offered. “I don't have ears but I'm a real good listener.”

They shook their head, but their expression cleared as if they wanted to laugh at him, but hadn't mustered up the energy yet. That’s right. They hadn’t got to that part yet. They were still warming up to him and that took time. That was fine because he had a better idea.

“Wanna hear a joke?”

They nodded, still looking down at the mug of hot cocoa as if the answer to all of their problems were swirling around in there with the marshmallows. Hot chocolate had always made them feel better before and hopefully they still liked it because he hadn’t thought to check before he made it for them. He mulled it over, trying to think of a really good one. Something that would turn that frown upside down.

“Okay, wanna know why skeletons are so calm?” he asked, taking a long drag of his cocoa and then smirking at them.

“Why?” they asked, their brows knitting together as they tried to think of the answer.

“Because nothing gets under their skin.”

“Pfft.”

There it was. Their lips twitched upwards for just the shortest second and he felt pretty good about himself. He could do better than that though.

“Did you think that was _humerus_?” Sans continued and they were giving him a full blown smile now. “Do you know what skeletons order when they go out to eat?”

“Bottles of ketchup?” they quipped.

“Heh, no, that’s just me,” he replied. “I was going to say spare _ribs_.”

“Oh, man! I thought for sure you were going to say a t- _bone_ steak!”

“Hey, not too shabby, kid. Why didn’t I think of that? Probably because I’m a numb _skull_.”

They continued to exchange silly gags, cracking each other up until they had to shush and remind one another not to wake up Papyrus. Their mugs had long been emptied, the hot cocoa working its magic on them, and Sans had surpassed that slap-happy-tired state where everything was hilarious. It didn’t take much longer for the shared titters to turn into long yawns and droopy eyes. He had only meant to rest his eye sockets for a moment…

He woke up with a start, unsure of how much time had passed, and there was a weight pressed against his side. At first he thought it was Papyrus, cozying up to him after a bad dream like he used to when he was just a baby bones, and then he remembered. It was hard to see in the dark room, but he could feel his arm wrapped snuggly around their torso and their head was buried in the joint below his shoulder. They must have decided to share their blanket too, since both of them were bundled up together.

He leaned his skull against the back of the couch and stared up the ceiling blankly, reveling in their closeness. It had been many, many timelines since they had let him get close like this. He wished he could say that he had forgotten in that time what it felt like to have them in his arms, but that would be a lie. He wrapped his other arm around them and gently pulled them closer, too exhausted to fight the impulse any more. Not when they were right here beside him and playing nice this time. That is exactly why he never made promises…

Not even to himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to clarify that I know the skelebros don't have a bathroom, but humans have to have them, sooooo....I'm rolling with it. Does that make this an au? Bathroom!Undertale...haha...ignore me. And think of the potential for bathroom shenanigans!!! 
> 
> Also, I am never sure if I should call the reader "Frisk" or just leave it alone in case people want to insert their own name? So far the gender is also ambiguous and I am going to try to keep it that way, since I don't like gendering Frisk. Thoughts?
> 
> Thank all of you for all of your kind words and support. It feels really great getting the feedback because this was just for fun.


	8. Cracks

It was snowing.

You were standing at base of Mt. Ebott and the snow was dyed scarlet. It was seeping up from the ground like an open wound under a too-thin bandage. Every snowflake that fell soaked up the color as it touched the ground.

Blood.

The sharp, copper smell was so strong that you could taste it. There was a cracked skull laying on the ground, staring up at you with dark, empty eye sockets and soon the blood swallowed it up. It just kept welling up from the earth, pooling around your ankles, and it didn't seem to be slowing down.

You were terrified.

You started climbing up the mountain, trying to get away, and the blood just kept rising with you. You were sure the whole world must be covered in an ocean of red.

It was your fault.

All of this was on your hands.

You looked down at your hands and saw that they were dripping with crimson. Your legs stopped working, the blood too deep  and thick to wade through anymore. The blood never stopped coming, getting higher until it was over your head. Choking you, drowning you...

Devouring you.

You jerked awake, gasping and sweating. Your legs were tangled up in the blanket like you had been trying to take a jog on the couch. The living room was still pretty dark and you blinked, slowly remembering where you were.

It was just a nightmare.

The gore from your dream was nowhere to be found in and you sighed in relief. Just as your heart was starting to slow, you turned to adjust your pillow so maybe you could fall back asleep and came face to face with a skeleton.

“Papyrus!” you yelped, flinching back.

“Are you having a bad dream, human?” Papyrus asked in what he probably thought was a whisper, leaning over the arm of the couch and watching you with a conflicted expression on his face. “You were rolling around and making many noises. I did not want to wake you, just in case it was a good dream.”

“So you were watching me sleep instead?” you asked, sitting up and untangling yourself from the blanket.

“Is that not that what a good friend does?” Papyrus asked.

“That’s exactly what a good friend does,” you agreed, rubbing the sleep from your eyes and smiled at the earnest, sweet skeleton. “You said something about good dreams. What do you dream about, Papyrus?”

“Puzzles,” Papyrus didn’t miss a beat, coming to sit beside you. “Or mountains of spaghetti. Or being on the Royal Guard under Undyne! Or of Sans picking up his socks!”

You laughed at his enthusiasm, listening as he told you all of his wild nocturnal adventures and quickly realized that he had a very creative imagination. He was the perfect balm after such a horrible nightmare.

“Wow, it’s early,” you observed, looking down at your cell phone and seeing that the time read five in the morning. “Do you get up like this everyday?”

“Early?” Papyrus exclaimed. “I really slept in today. Normally I get up much, much earlier. I am a very busy skeleton and do not have time to nap all night like a certain lazybones.”

You grinned a little, knowing he was talking about his brother. That reminded you...you looked to the end table and saw the two mugs from last night still sitting there. Sans had kept you company, making you hot cocoa with marshmallows and making you laugh until you had forgotten about Toriel for awhile. You must have fallen asleep on him at some point and he went to bed, but not before covering you up…

Sans was really sweet too.

“Are you hungry?” Papyrus asked, pulling you back to the present. “I, the Great Papyrus, am a gracious host and will cook you my Underground-renowned breakfast spaghetti!”

“Is it different from the normal spaghetti?” you asked, hopeful.

“Oh, yes! It has extra glitter! To give your day a bright and shiny start!”

Your stomach instantly churned at the thought. Could that kill you? Sans had said it was inedible.

“I have an idea,” you quickly suggested. “Why don’t I make you breakfast since you are letting me stay here? When does the store open?”

“That is a wonderful idea! I would very much enjoy seeing my new friend’s culinary expertise!” Papyrus agreed cheerfully. “The store should be open around six! That gives me plenty of time to check my traps and puzzles for humans before breakfast.”

“Alright, I’ll get ready for the day while you do that, Pap,” you confirmed, mimicking Sans without thinking about it.

“Wow! We have already reached the nickname stage of our friendship!” Papyrus crowed delightfully. “I must think of an equally affectionate and clever nickname for you while I am out on patrol!”

Papyrus laughed exuberantly as he left and you could still hear him as he walked down the street. He had put you in a great mood and gave you the energy to face the day. You stood up, stretched, and quickly got a move on.

First things first, you folded up your blanket neatly, grabbed your pillow, and returned it to the hallway closet under the stairs. Then you snagged the mugs from the end table and took them into the kitchen, washing and drying them before you returned them to the cabinet. Your dreams had brought on a cold sweat, making you feel gross, so you grabbed the bag Sans had lent you and headed to the bathroom.

Why skeletons needed bathrooms, you weren’t sure, but you were starting the get used to all of the monster stuff by now. There was the standard shower-tub combo, toilet, sink, and linen closet. There was also a washer and dryer hooked up. It made you feel a little more at home knowing that they didn’t just magically stay clean all of the time. Your new boots were sitting on the floor beside the washer and you felt bad for taking them all over again, but you had no choice. Your old shoes had to be thrown out after sparring with Papyrus.

You quickly turned on the shower, fiddling with the knob to make the water hot. Snowdin was a very cold place and it took a few minutes for the water to get up to temperature. Once it was nice and toasty, you jumped in washed away the grime from your skin. At least Underground had proper plumbing.

Once you were done, you headed back into the living room and found Sans sitting on the couch, still in his PJs. No surprises there. You were going to tell him good morning, but your voice caught in your throat when you realized that he was leaning forward and had his skull buried in his hands. He must not have heard you approach, his face hidden from view, and something didn't seem right about that.

“Sans?” you asked gently.

He looked up quickly, his sockets widening in alarm and he kept his hands pressed over his mouth. It was almost like he had seen a ghost and you couldn’t help but cast a quick glance over your shoulder just to make sure Napstablook hadn’t suddenly showed up behind you. No? Okay.

“...you’re still here?” he murmured softly from behind his hands, sounding confused.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry,” you said, rubbing the back of your head. “I was just in the shower.”

His eye sockets relaxed back to their normal sleepy-eyed state and lowered his hands to his lap. He was smiling, but it looked too fixed to be real.  You were pretty sure you had just imposed on something you weren't meant to see.

“Again?” he asked wryly, and he side-eyed you. “You humans sure are high maintenance. Must be all that skin and hair.”

His observation made you feel self-conscious, but he was obviously trying to joke away the moment. You knew the polite thing would be to say nothing and pretend like it didn't happen, but…

“Are you okay?” you asked, stepping closer carefully.

“Yeah, didn't you see my shirt?” he asked.

You glanced down at the large, blue font on his t-shirt. It read: “It’s going tibia okay” and there was, of course, a tibia bone underneath it. You had to laugh then and his smile became more genuine as you did.

“I'm sorry about squatting on your couch,” you said, his words leaving you to assume that was the reason for his unrest. “I plan on going to the inn after Papyrus gets back.”

“Hey, hold on,” he interjected, his cheekbones surprisingly taking on a light blue tint like he was blushing. “It's not like that.”

“I just know how weird it is having a stranger in your house. A human at that,” you floundered, his flush making you even more flustered and you flexed your fingers nervously in front of you. “I don't want to overstay my welcome. You guys have been so--”

“Kid,” Sans cut you off in the firmest voice he could probably manage. “Don't worry about it. You're not a stranger.”

You stared at him, confused and taken back by the sudden seriousness.

“We’re pals, right?” he asked, looking down and still looking bashful. “And what good is a pal if you can't stay with them, wear their clothes, and eat their food? That’d be no fun.”

You were touched. Even though he was kinda calling you a bum. He looked up at you and winked.

“Trust me. If I want you to get off our couch, I'll tell you. _Sofa_ , so good.”

Oh god. That caught you off-guard and he looked like the cat that ate the canary. You let out an ugly snort of laughter, making Sans snigger. The issue was dropped for the moment.

Once Papyrus came back, the two of you went to the store while Sans stayed behind to nap on the couch. When you got back, you attempted to teach Papyrus how to make eggs, bacon, and pancakes. For some reason he wanted to punch all the food and set it on fire, so you did most of the cooking. It came out pretty good and Sans joined you at the table to eat. Papyrus raved about your food, telling you that he was going to call his friend Undyne and tell her all about it. You were pleased and relieved you could do something in return for all of their help, even if it was not nearly enough.

Papyrus left first for...whatever he actually did for work, leaving you to clean up by yourself. That was actually completely fine by you. Not only did you kinda enjoy housework because it gave you some time to think, but it was just one more thing you could do to thank them.

You slipped a plate into the drying rack and reached down to grab another. You almost didn’t look, your body just going through the motions by that point, but the water felt thick and sticky. Your eyes shot down and you gasped.

The sink was full of the blood.

“Oh god…”

You stumbled back, sloshing it down your front and your shirt instantly soaked it up. You looked down at your hands to see they were stained red. You looked around the room for some sort of explanation, but the walls were bleeding and blood was beginning to collect the floor.

What was happening?

It was just like your nightmare.

“Hey--”

You shrieked and whirled around. Sans was standing behind you and he jerked back like you had slapped him. It was the fastest you had ever seen him move.

“Whoa,” he breathed, smiling uneasily. “You alright there, kid?”

You looked around. The room was back to normal and your hands were wet, but with soapy dish water. You looked into the sink and saw no blood there either. There was no way that was a daydream, was it?

“Buddy?” Sans pressed, sounding anxious. “What’s going on?”

You turned back to face him, eyes wide and having no explanation for him. Your mind was scattered.

“Um…” you mumbled, scrambling for some sort of response that didn't make you sound crazy. “You...you startled me is all. I thought you left with Papyrus.”

There. That was somewhat believable, right?

“You sure?” he asked, his eyes narrowed at you somewhat like he wasn't buying what you were selling.

“Yeah, I didn't hear you come in,” you quickly assured him. “I must have zoned out.”

He stared at you for a moment longer. You looked back and gave him what you hoped was a smile. Your heart was racing in your chest, still not over that horrific vision, but you weren’t about to tell Sans that you were hallucinating or whatever that was. He eased up finally, seeming to accept your answer.

“You nearly scared me out of my skin there, kid,” he said, his grin back and that made you feel a little better.

“Sorry,” you said sincerely, but you weren’t sure if you were apologizing to him or yourself for the scare. “Are you heading to your post now?”

You desperately needed to change the subject and that was as good as it was going to get with your frazzled mental state. He was dressed now, arms stuffed into the pockets of his coat and he had replaced his house slippers for his sneakers.

“Yeah, I was making sure you didn't need anything before I went?” he asked. "I can point you in the right direction at least."

You had to suppress tears then.  They trusted you enough to leave you in their house alone on top of everything else? That was just too much.

“No, I’m great,” you quickly declined despite feeling anything but. “I’m nearly done with the dishes. Should I lock up before I go?”

“Oh, right,” Sans drawled. “Yeah, that won’t be necessary.”

“Really?” you asked. “You don’t have to worry about theft down here?”

“Not that,” he disagreed. “The inn.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, leaning against the counter.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said.

You nodded for him to go on, curious.

“Yeah. I need some help at one of my jobs,” Sans continued. “If you come work for me and keep teaching Papyrus how to cook, you can stay here as long as you want.”

“Sans, I…” you were struggling for words. “That’s too much.”

“Not really,” he said nonchalantly, small pupils looking up at the ceiling and you couldn’t be sure in the harsh kitchen light, but it looked like he was blushing again. “I’ve had to remodel this kitchen five times since Papyrus started cooking and that’s five more times than I had planned to. With you around, I’m sure you can stop him from burning the house down.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to do that,” you joked, a smile pulling at your lips. “That actually might be impossible.”

“Nah,” Sans disagreed. “I believe in you.”

For a second you were kind of touched. Then you noticed his grin had transformed into downright shit-eating. He was so sarcastic and playful that you had to resist spraying him down with the hose.

“Anyways, you don’t have to,” Sans said, turning his back to you. “Just think about it.”

“I…” you fumbled. “I will. Thank you.”

“Don't worry about it,” he said, turning his head slightly to look over his shoulder at you.  "Thank you."

You could just barely see that his cheekbones were completely blue now and beads of sweat miraculously appeared on the back of his skull. Was this the same Sans that shamelessly flirted with your server at Grillby's? Guess he wasn't as smooth as you had originally thought. But what got him so riled up?

“Don’t thank me, Sans,” you quickly told him, turning back to the sink to scrub the dishes with new vigor as Sans had given you a lot to mull over...and his embarrassment had passed onto you like a cold. “I owe you both so much. I’m going to figure out a way to repay you.”

“Can't a guy just express his gratitude?” he asked and you could sense it coming before he said it. “Un- _bone_ -lievable.”

Darn it. You were giggling despite not wanting to.

“Wow. Just wow,” you said. “I didn't think you had the _guts_ the go there.”

You could hear his bones rattling as he tried to hold back his laughter. Good. You could play this game too.

“I'm _patella_ -ing you thanks,” he countered in a heartbeat. "Deal with it."

“Throw me a bone and _talus_ why.”

“I don't think I have the _heart_ for honest conversation,” he said. “Guess you can say I'm _spine_ less.”

...ah. Oh no. You couldn’t think of another one.

“You in- _carpal_ -able of keeping up?” he sounded smug.

“I haven’t done anything,  Sans,” you argued tenderly, admitting defeat.

“That’s a _fibula_.”

“Oh, yeah? What have I done to earn your thanks? I've just been a mooch.”

“You came back.”

Came back? As in not disappearing forever when you went to Mt. Ebott? Came from the store with food? That was too vague. You turned around again to ask him for clarification and were surprised to see the kitchen doorway was empty.

Sans was gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!!!!!! Are you all having a good, spoopy day? Have fun for me since I'm stuck at home, okay?
> 
> Random_Chick has asked about the playlist I use when I write this story, since I mentioned it earlier and since it's like 80 songs long (and still growing) I'll just post a few for now. If anyone uses Spotify, it's on there under "No Funny Business." I'll probably post some more in the next few chapters. Also, recommend all of the Sans music to me or just good music in general! Sad, angry, happy--anything. I'll listen to any genre. 
> 
> 1\. Ghost - Mystery Skulls  
> 2\. What Have You Done - Within Temptation  
> 3\. Eyes on Fire - Blue Foundation  
> 4\. Invincible - OK GO  
> 5\. The Future - Mystery Skulls  
> 6\. Lost It To Trying - Son Lux  
> 7\. Through Glass - Stone Sour  
> 8\. Control - Halsey  
> 9\. Chop Suey! - System of a Down  
> 10\. BTSTU - Jail Paul  
> 11\. I Know I'm a Wolf - Young Heretics  
> 12\. Creep - Scott Bradlee's Post Modern Jukebox; Hailey Reinhart


	9. Saccharin

“Looking good, bro.”

You looked up from the floor where you were folding clothes to see Papyrus had actually changed his outfit and Sans was commenting on it from where he sat on the couch.  Papyrus was wearing another crop top that said “Sauce Boss” and somewhat longer shorts. He had also put on sneakers instead of his normal red boots and was wearing a snapback. He really did look good, though not at all appropriate for the weather.

“Thank you, brother. I have to agree,” Papyrus  acknowledged, beaming. “I thought I would go for a more casual look for my extra private, one-on-one training with Undyne!”

Papyrus was talking about his cooking lesson.

“Good thinking.”

Sans gave his brother a smile, but you could tell it was somewhat strained and Papyrus didn't notice. Sans either really did not like this Undyne person or he was not pleased about the cooking lesson. Papyrus, satisfied with Sans’ comment, hustled to your side and struck a pose with his hands on his hips.

“What do you think, _partner_? Nyehehehe!”

Ah, so partner was the current nickname Papyrus was trying out. He had gone through a dozen or so, calling you everything from “mate” to “comrade.” He was so eager and hopeful every time he came up with a new one, but kept changing it no matter how positively you reacted.

“I love the look,” you complimented, setting down a shirt in Papyrus’ pile. “Where did you get the shirt?”

You had a suspicion and you glanced at the shorter skeleton as he sat on the couch behind you. His smile was as unreadable as ever and gave nothing away.

“Sans bought it for me for my birthday!” Papyrus said. “It is because he loves my spaghetti so much!”

“You got that right, bro,” Sans agreed, eyes closing. “Even better than Grillby’s.”

“Well, of course my astounding spaghetti is better than anything in that grease trap!” Papyrus boasted and he turned towards the door. “I will be back soon! Please continue bonding while I’m away and don’t miss me too much!”

You and Sans exchanged sheepish chuckles. Papyrus was just so blunt. It was like a breath of fresh air compared to his unforthcoming brother.

You had been there for a few days now, helping Sans at his hot dog stand in Hotland since Undyne, who was head of the Royal Guard, never went that far in. You also took on all of the chores in the house that Papyrus would relinquish. Being under the same roof, you had plenty of opportunities to ask Sans’ what he meant by thanking you for “coming back” but he kept talking and joking in circles until you forgot about it. Maybe you were thinking too much about it.

You also hadn’t dreamt of blood anymore. During the day or night. That was a huge weight off your shoulders and you were writing it off as a one-time thing.

“You know you don’t have to do that, right?” Sans drawled, nodding down to the chore you had given yourself. “You already work for me.”

“I know, but I actually enjoy it,” you explain. “Also, there’s so much I have to make up for.”

“Oh, you’re one of _those_ ,” Sans said, eyeing you.

“One of what?” you asked, laughing a little at the playful menace in his voice.

“You know...a _workaholic_ ,” Sans continued as if he were talking about some absurd cult and he gave you a short, pitying head shake. “It’s truly a disease.”

“Oh, get out of here,” you exclaimed, giggling. “There’s nothing wrong with working hard. Papyrus does.”

“Yeah. He sure is cool, isn’t he?” Sans said, his voice completely serious.

That’s something you realized pretty fast about Sans and it made you like him even more than you already did. No matter how sarcastic and nonchalant Sans was, he never talked badly about Papyrus. He honestly looked up to his brother.

“Yeah, he is,” you agreed and something occurred to you. “Um, but I have to ask…does Papyrus actually get paid for patrolling for humans?”

It was something that had been bothering you since Papyrus told you that Sans paid for the house and you had discovered that Sans actually worked several jobs. Which was honestly a surprise since he was so constantly dubbed as lazy. As you expected, Sans’ eyes got tense while his smile stayed frozen on his face.

“Papyrus doesn't need to make money,” Sans replied. “I got it covered until he becomes a member of the Royal Guard.”

“So are you the older brother?” you continued.

Sans was so much smaller than Papyrus, who towered over you and yet still reminded you of a child. His unwavering self-assurance and constant optimism was too much like a kid who has yet to be crushed by the crippling responsibilities of adulthood. Sans was always playful, redirecting any serious conversation into a joke, but sometimes it seemed a little forced. Like he actually knew about the realities of the world. Maybe Sans had been shielding Papyrus from all that?

“I guess so,” Sans said flatly.

“How do you guess that you're older?” you asked, chuckling lightly.

“We’re pretty close in age, so I’m pretty sure Papyrus thinks he’s older,” Sans’ explained, his expression a small, tired smile. “So let’s just keep that between us, okay, buddy?”

You were right. Sans was fronting all of the bills, paying you well, letting you live under their roof, and essentially letting Papyrus play around. Not that Papyrus probably knew better or even realized. Why?

“Ooh, a secret,” you said, furrowing your brow as you thought about that. “I won’t tell.”

“Good thing,” Sans affirmed. “Or we’d have a real problem on our hands, pal.”

The hairs on the back of your neck stood on end at his words. You laughed to cover up your discomfort, but it sounded feeble even to your ears. Why did it sound so familiar when he said that? Like he wasn’t kidding at all. It was like you’d heard it a dozen times before…

Sans suddenly dropped down from the couch to sit beside you on the living room floor and he was so close that your elbows brushed against one another's. You turned and were even more surprised to see him start rolling pairs of socks together. They were a little crumpled for your liking, but it was more than you expected.

“What?” he asked when he realized that you were watching. “Can’t I lend a _hand_?”

As if on cue, he detached one hand with the other and flopped it down into your lap.

You looked down and just stared and stared and stared. Your thoughts were a million miles from there and every possible comment died in your throat before it could take form. Sans was full out laughing, hiding his face in his arm to muffle his guffaws.

“...I didn’t know you could do that…” you whispered, beyond distressed. “I just never thought…”

“You should see your face,” he snickered from behind his sleeves.

“You know, I’m a pretty curious person,” you said, gingerly picking up his hand between your thumb and forefinger like it were some sort of bug. “I wonder how _handy_ you’ll be when I flush it down the toilet.”

“Hey,” Sans protested, snatching it back from you and he narrowed his eye sockets at you. “You shouldn’t flush the _hand_ that feeds you.”

The whole while, he was waving his disembodied hand at you and the pointer finger was pointing at you accusingly. It was surreal.

“I’m sorry,” you said, grinning. “Things got a little out of _hand_.”

“That’s the last time I try a _hands_ -on approach.”

“No. Forgive me. I won’t be so heavy- _handed_ next time.”

The two of you broke down into hysterics and Sans reattached his hand with a small pop. Together you finished folding the laundry and put it away. Between you and Papyrus (and Sans a little) there was nothing left to do.

“Time to relax.”

He had moved back to the couch, laying against the armrest and resting his head on his folded arms. He lazily clicked on the TV with the remote and a loud show started. An MTT Original Series, whatever that was.

“Is that a robot?” you asked, squinting at the screen and you stayed sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch for support.

It was this big, boxy contraption on a wheel and it had hands. It was wearing a dress and singing a poorly written love ballad. Underground TV was really something a person needed to experience themselves because no description you could come up with would do it justice.

“Yeah, Mettaton.” Sans said in a flat voice, watching the TV with one eye socket closed. “He’s Papyrus’ favorite.”

“Huh,” you said. “You don’t sound like you care for him much.”

“Just not my style,” he said noncommittally.

He switched the channel to some game show where monsters were being asked trivia questions and trying to win prizes. They asked odd questions like the solutions to certain puzzles throughout Underground, about echo flowers, and Asgore’s birthday. You didn’t know the answers to any of them. That show went off and on came the news.

“You know you can sit up here. I don’t bite.”

You glanced up and saw that Sans was staring at you, not the TV. You smiled at him and lifted yourself up to sit on the opposite end of the couch. It wasn’t very big, just enough room for the three of you to sit together and it could be little crowded, but the worn couch was comfortable. You settled in, eyes on the TV as the reporter started talking about the Core and the rising prices of magical electricity.

“Unless ya want me to.”

You look over, surprised, and Sans looked a little startled too. Like the words had just slipped out of his mouth. He rubbed the back of his head, looking down and laughing nervously.

“Uh, I mean…I didn’t...” Sans stammered, his cheekbones turning dark blue.

Your chest started to shudder and then ache. You couldn’t hold it in anymore. You burst into giggles, even as you felt your face redden.

“Wow, Sans,” you managed through your laughter. “That was so forward. Maybe if you had a tongue, you could have bit it instead.”

That made him laugh. Sans visibly relaxed, letting his hand fall to his lap and his shoulders fell slack. A wholehearted smile filled his skull and his eyes were unusually tender. He reached out and put a hand on your arm.

“You know, kid,” he started in an affectionate tone. “I wa--”

“I, the Great Papyrus, am home!”

Papyrus busted into the house, letting in a gust of cold air and Sans’ hand slid off of your arm. You glanced at him, intrigued, but Sans was looking at his brother. The moment had passed.

“Sup, bro,” Sans greeted, “How did training go?”

“Great! As expected of Undyne and myself! We make a great team!” Papyrus babbled, brushing the snow from his shoulders. “We cooked something different today!”

“Yeah?” Sans asked, resting his chin on his hand.

“Lasagna!” he answered happily. “It’s almost like a spaghetti cake except with cheese! Lots of cheese!”

He came and sat down, snuggling right in between you and Sans. His bones were cold to the touch, making goosebumps rise on your skin. You needed to get him a jacket or something, but would that help since he didn’t have body heat?

“You know, Papyrus,” you said, pushing that thought aside for now. “You can bake spaghetti too.”

“You can?” he asked, face lit up.

“Yeah, absolutely,” you told him. “We can make it together after we try out Undyne’s lasagna recipe.”

“What a cool friend I have found! A pasta expert!” Papyrus exclaimed, wrapping you into a hug and his firm, bonyness was foreign, but not uncomfortable.

You returned his hug tightly and as you looked over Papyrus’ shoulder, you could see Sans giving you that same, fond look from before. You really wanted to know what he was going to say before Papyrus came in.

“You know, Pap,” you said, leaning back as he released you. “Undyne is the head of the Royal Guard, right?”

“Yes, she is!” Papyrus confirmed. “She is super strong and powerful! Everything she does is full of passion and determination!”

“And you didn’t tell her I was here, right?” you pressed, his praise filling you with dread.

“No, of course not!” Papyrus assured you. “I do not want to part ways with you yet, _chum_!”

Oh, it was chum now. And that whole “parting ways” business wasn't conforming. It sounded like Papyrus was sure she’d be the end of you.

“We’ll just have to keep you really well hidden! Or dress you up like a monster!”

“Yeah...maybe that'll work, Pap.”

Toriel hadn’t told you why Asgore wanted the human souls, but she had told you that he would have you killed if you ever left the Ruins. Undyne would be the one to take your soul if you ever crossed paths. You had to avoid her at all costs if you were going to stay Underground…

...and alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I feel like this one was cut short and nothing happened. I'm not sure. I'm not happy with it....bleh. Hopefully this is okay until the plot starts picking up next chapter.
> 
> Also in the comments I was told that the chapter from Sans' perspective was confusing because I used "you" to refer to the reader rather than "they." I would like to post both versions of the story, since I think some people will probably both. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to do that smoothly?
> 
> Also, I wanted to thank all of you so much for all of your feedback. Between Tumblr and ao3 there has been sosososo much support. I just hope the fandom keeps up enough steam to stay with this story. I don't know how long it will take for the romance to happen, but I didn't say it was a slow burn for nothing. Haha. Thankfully you all seem to like it so far. I love you guys so much.


	10. Effort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter is from Sans' perspective. To insure that there is no confusion, this chapter has two versions below with a break separating them. In the first part the reader referred to by the usual "you" and the second part uses "they/them/their" pronouns instead. Just to make sure that no one is confused about who is who. I also did this to chapter 7, where the issue was brought up originally.
> 
> Thank you so much for all of the feedback!
> 
> Also!!! xHyding put those songs I posted a few chapters ago on 8tracks, so here's the link: http://8tracks.com/xxxhyding/no-funny-business
> 
> Thank you so much, xHyding!!!!

Sans hadn’t really thought this through.

Hotland was, well... _hot_ and while it didn’t faze him, you had discarded your heavy snow-proof clothes, stowing them in your bag in exchange for a lot less. He wanted know where you had found a tank top and shorts for sale in Snowdin of all places, but he had long known not to underestimate your resourcefulness. Maybe the same place Papyrus got his.

You were bent over the counter of his hot dog stand, wiping everything down and rearranging the condiments. You really were a hard worker. As he sat back and let you do all of the work, it was hard not to notice the way your skin glistened as you labored away and you kept running your tongue over your lips, a never-ending battle against the arid air. It was hard not to notice a lot of things.

“Time for your union-regulated break.”

You looked over your shoulder at him and he could already see the question forming in your eyes.

“Break?” you asked, turning to face him and you leaned against the stand. “Another one?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve really worked up an appetite,” he said, pressing his hand just below his rib cage. “I feel empty.”

He had been switching between napping in his chair and giving you vague instructions all day, not much work at all. He smirked as your eyes narrowed at him, just the tiniest bit, and then you smiled back before hanging the “CLOSED” sign over the front of the stand. You were definitely a kindred spirit, finding humor in all of his corny gags.

“Come on, there’s something you should try,” he said, nodding for you to follow him and you did.

He turned his back to you and felt the familiar burning in his left eye. You had stopped asking him about teleporting a while ago. As you crossed a land bridge, you were suddenly standing in front of the Nice Cream stand. Bleu, the vendor, hadn’t noticed him yet and was leaning against his cart with a gloomy expression on his face.

“Yo,” Sans greeted, shuffling over to him.

“Hello!” Bleu perked up immediately, giving him a huge smile. “I haven’t seen you in awhile, Sans. Been busy?”

“You know it,” Sans told him, giving him a quick wink and Bleu laughed. “We’ll take two Nice Creams.”

“We’ll…?” Bleu asked, looking over Sans’ shoulder and he noticed you. “Oh, I see. It’s not often I get an unfamiliar face. What’s the name, sweetie?”

While you introduced yourself to Bleu, he handed over two packages of Nice cream in their familiar blue, plastic wrappers and Sans thanked him. Sans could hear you digging through your pockets for your money and he gave Bleu the money for both before you could. You were definitely going to be mad.

“We need to get together sometime soon,” Bleu said, closing the lid to the refrigerated cart and he turned to you. “You should come too.”

“Okay,” you replied, nodding and looking shy.

“Sure,” Sans agreed. “Shoot me a text.”

“Definitely! See you guys later!”

“Later.”

Sans turned around and nearly busted a seam. You were scowling at him and holding out twenty-five gold coins. He ignored you and walked past, back in the direction of the hot dog stand. He knew you were irritated, huffing and puffing behind him, but followed him anyways. He led you back to the hot dog stand and the both of you sat down.

“Take it,” you grumbled, waving the money in his face as you were sitting.

“Hang onto it,” Sans told you, chuckling. “I’ll make you buy me a drink later.”

He waited until you reluctantly slid the money back into your pocket before he handed you the Nice Cream. He looked down at his own and the usual, cheerful message on the outside of the wrapper said: “Is this as sweet as you?”

“Heh, Papyrus loves these,” Sans told you.

“What?” you leaned close to him, looking at his wrapper and reading it. “Aw, that is nice.”

“They don’t call it Nice Cream for nothing,” he said, tearing his open and he popped it in his mouth. It instantly chilled his teeth.

“What does mine say?” you asked, looking down at yours as you opened it and you read aloud: “‘Smile! Someone loves you!’ I can see why Papyrus likes these.”

Sans watched as you brushed your hair from your forehead and took a lick of the soft, white ice cream. He had to look away.

“Hey, this really is sweet,” you said, beaming at him. “You know what you should do? Since you’re always trying to make money, you should sell popsicles with jokes inside. They do it on the surface.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Sans agreed. “What would I call it?”

“Sans’ Punny Popsicles,” you said grinning at him. “Punsicles!”

“Sans’ Kidding Confections,” he replied.

“Sans’ Laughing Lick ‘ems,” you said and then you instantly regretted it, turning blood red. “No, wait. That sounds wrong. Let’s go with Punsicles.”

Sans couldn’t help but laugh and he knew he was flushing too. He needed to change the subject before it got worse.

“Do you miss it up there?”

Sans immediately wished he hadn’t asked. You looked so crestfallen, the lines and shadows on your face seeming deeper suddenly. It was so different from your usual easy smile and laughter that he felt guilty.

That was new.

“I miss the sun,” you started in a small voice. “And the stars at night. There’s actually a lot of things about the surface I do miss, but the people…”

You shook your head, as if shaking away a bad thought.

“I have never been happier in my life than I am right now. Staying with Papyrus..” you looked up at him, eyes shining brightly as if tears were imminent but they never fell.  “...and you.”

Oh no.

Not again.

“Well, kid,” Sans said, speaking before thinking. “You can stick around as long as you like. Papyrus really likes having you at the house and I guess you’re okay.”

“Oh, thank you, Sans, That was really heartfelt,” you rolled your eyes at him and the both of you were grinning. “No, really. Papyrus is great, but you’re a lot of fun too. For some reason I feel like you and I have been friends my whole life.”

Sans knew exactly what you meant.

“Although, I’m sure if I had friends like you guys up there, the surface wouldn’t have been so bad.”

Traces of that dark expression lingered on your face and Sans felt apprehension creep over him. All of this was new. He’d never heard you say anything like that in any of the old timelines. He knew you had no one to go back to up there, but you had always wanted to get back home anyways.

Now you wanted nothing to do with that and Sans was clueless. He had no idea what to expect. If you weren’t motivated and out chasing your ambitions, whatever they were, then what did that mean for them?

How were you going to die this time?

Sans had been stuck in this endless loop with you too many times to count now and he knew the trick. The timeline, their whole existence, revolved around you. He didn’t know why it was you, but once your heart stopped, so did the world.

Then it reset.

And Sans was the only one that ever remembered what used to be.

He was the only one that remembered what it was like to fall in love with you over and over again. To hear you laugh, fall asleep with you in his arms, and to dream about something more. About a life together on the surface.

That wouldn't have been so terrible if it didn't mean going against Asgore and you never could do that, at least not when you were truly yourself. Most of the time you weren’t. Something usually goes wrong in the reset and you come back corrupted. Possessed. Evil.

He remembered how it felt watching you kill everyone. Kill Undyne, Mettaton, and even Papyrus, who never stopped believing in you no matter how much blood you got on your hands. Then Sans had to stop you himself. Force the timeline to reset himself.

Kill you himself.

It was the only way he got Papyrus back and…

...the only way he had the smallest chance of getting the real you back.

Needless to say he had pretty much given up on whatever dreams he used to have. If he or Asgore didn’t kill you, another monster would or some ridiculous accident happened. You never made it out of Underground alive and neither did any of the monsters. It was like it was fate to continuously relive this with you and there was no end in sight.

So now that you had stopped trying to leave Underground, did that mean you would live? Was that what broke the chains on his eternal curse? Could he share a long and happy life with you so long as you stayed right where you were?

Or would it all still reset if you died old and grey?

“Hey, cheer up.”

You were smiling at him sweetly, bringing him back to the current timeline. The only one that mattered at the moment. He felt himself falling, wrapping around your pinky, and losing himself in you once more.

“I have you guys now and I’m not going anywhere,” you said. “You’re stuck with me forever.”

For the first time in too long…

“I’m counting on it, kid.”

Sans wanted to try.

\---"they/them/their"---

Sans hadn’t really thought this through.

Hotland was, well...hot and while it didn’t faze him, they had discarded their heavy snow proof clothes, stowing them in their bag in exchange for a lot less. He wanted know where they had found a tank top and shorts for sale in Snowdin of all places, but he had long known not to underestimate their resourcefulness. Maybe the same place Papyrus got his.

They were bent over the counter of his hot dog stand, wiping everything down and rearranging the condiments. They really were a hard worker. As he sat back and let them do all of the work, it was hard not to notice the way their skin glistened as they labored away and they kept running their tongue over their lips, a never-ending battle against the arid air. It was hard not to notice a lot of things.

“Time for your union-regulated break.”

They looked over their shoulder at him and he could already see the question forming in their eyes.

“Break?” they asked, turning to face him and they leaned against the stand. “Another one?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve really worked up an appetite,” he said, pressing his hand just below his rib cage. “I feel empty.”

He had been switching between napping in his chair and giving them vague instructions all day, not much work at all. He smirked as their eyes narrowed at him, just the tiniest bit, and then they smiled back before hanging the “CLOSED” sign over the front of the stand. They were definitely a kindred spirit, finding humor in all of his corny gags.

“Come on, there’s something you should try,” he said, nodding for them to follow him and they did.

He turned his back to them and felt the familiar burning in his left eye. They had stopped asking him about teleporting a while ago. As they crossed a land bridge, they were suddenly standing in front of the Nice Cream stand. Bleu, the vendor, hadn’t noticed him yet and was leaning against his cart with a gloomy expression on his face.

“Yo,” Sans greeted, shuffling over to him.

“Hello!” Bleu perked up immediately, giving him a huge smile. “I haven’t seen you in awhile, Sans. Been busy?”

“You know it,” Sans told him, giving him a quick wink and Bleu laughed. “We’ll take two Nice Creams.”

“We’ll…?” Bleu asked, looking over Sans’ shoulder and he noticed them. “Oh, I see. It’s not often I get an unfamiliar face. What’s the name, sweetie?”

While they introduced themselves to Bleu, he handed over two packages of Nice cream in their familiar blue, plastic wrappers and Sans thanked him. Sans could hear them digging through their pockets for their money and he quickly paid Bleu for both. They were definitely going to be mad.

“We need to get together sometime soon,” Bleu said, closing the lid to the refrigerated cart and he turned to them. “You should come too.”

“Okay,” they replied, nodding and looking shy.

“Sure,” Sans agreed. “Shoot me a text.”

“Definitely! See you guys later!”

“Later.”

Sans turned around and nearly busted a seam. They were scowling at him and holding out twenty-five gold coins. He ignored them and walked past, back in the direction of the hot dog stand. He knew they were irritated, huffing and puffing behind him, but followed him anyways. He led them back to the hot dog stand and the both of them sat down.

“Take it,” they grumbled, waving the money in his face as they were sitting.

“Hang onto it,” Sans told them, chuckling. “I’ll make you buy me a drink later.”

He waited until they reluctantly slid the money back into their pocket before he handed them the Nice Cream. He looked down at his own and the usual, cheerful message on the outside of the wrapper said: “Is this as sweet as you?”

“Heh, Papyrus loves these,” Sans told them.

“What?” they leaned close to him, looking at his wrapper and reading it. “Aw, that is nice.”

“They don’t call it Nice Cream for nothing,” he said, tearing his open and he popped it in his mouth. It instantly chilled his teeth.

“What does mine say?” they asked, looking down at theirs as they opened it and they read aloud: “‘Smile! Someone loves you!’ I can see why Papyrus likes these.”

Sans watched as they brushed their hair from their forehead and took a lick of the soft, white ice cream. He had to look away.

“Hey, this really is sweet,” they said, beaming at him. “You know what you should do? Since you’re always trying to make money, you should sell popsicles with jokes inside. They do it on the surface.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Sans agreed. “What would I call it?”

“Sans’ Punny Popsicles,” they said grinning at him. “Punsicles!”

“Sans’ Kidding Confections,” he shot back.

“Sans’ Laughing Lick ‘ems,” they said and then they instantly regretted it, turning blood red. “No, wait. That sounds wrong. Let’s go with Punsicles.”

Sans couldn’t help but laugh and he knew he was flushing too. He needed to change the subject before it got worse.

“Do you miss it up there?”

Sans immediately wished he hadn’t asked. They looked so crestfallen, the lines and shadows on their face seeming deeper suddenly. It was so different from their usual easy smile and laughter that he felt guilty.

That was new.

“I miss the sun,” they started in a small voice. “And the stars at night. There’s actually a lot of things about the surface I do miss, but the people…”

They shook their head, as if shaking away a bad thought.

“I have never been happier in my life than I am right now. Staying with Papyrus..” they looked up at him, eyes shining brightly as if tears were imminent but they never fell.  “...and you.”

Oh no.

Not again.

“Well, kid,” Sans said, speaking before thinking. “You can stick around as long as you like. Papyrus really likes having you at the house and I guess you’re okay.”

“Oh, thank you, Sans, That was really heartfelt,” they rolled their eyes at him and the both of them were grinning. “No, really. Papyrus is great, but you’re a lot of fun too. For some reason I feel like you and I have been friends my whole life.”

Sans knew exactly what they meant.

“Although, I’m sure if I had friends like you guys up there, the surface wouldn’t have been so bad.”

Traces of that dark expression lingered on their face and Sans felt apprehension creep over him. All of this was new. He’d never heard them say anything like that in any of the old timelines. He knew they had no one to go back to up there, but they had always wanted to get back home anyways.

Now they wanted nothing to do with that and Sans was clueless. He had no idea what to expect. If they weren’t motivated and out chasing their ambitions, whatever they were, then what did that mean for them?

How were they going to die this time?

Sans had been stuck in this endless loop with them too many times to count now and he knew the trick. The timeline, their whole existence, revolved around them. He didn’t know why it was them, but once their heart stopped, so did the world.

Then it reset.

And Sans was the only one that ever remembered what used to be.

He was the only one that remembered what it was like to fall in love with them over and over again. To hear them laugh, fall asleep with them in his arms, and to dream about something more. About a life together on the surface.

That wouldn't have been so terrible if it didn't mean going against Asgore and they never could do that, at least not when they were truly themselves. Most of the time they weren’t. Something usually goes wrong in the reset and they come back corrupted. Possessed. Evil.

He remembered how it felt watching them kill everyone. Kill Undyne, Mettaton, and even Papyrus, who never stopped believing in them no matter how much blood they got on their hands. Then Sans had to stop them himself. Force the timeline to reset himself.

Kill them himself.

It was the only way he got Papyrus back and…

...the only way he had the smallest chance of getting the real them back.

Needless to say he had pretty much given up on whatever dreams he used to have. If he or Asgore didn’t kill them, another monster would or some ridiculous accident happened. They never made it out of Underground alive and neither did any of the monsters. It was like it was fate to continuously relive this with them and there was no end in sight.

So now that they had stopped trying to leave Underground, did that mean they would live? Was that what broke the chains on his eternal curse? Could he share a long and happy life with them so long as they stayed right where they were?

Or would it all still reset if they died old and grey?

“Hey, cheer up.”

They were smiling at him sweetly, bringing him back to the current timeline. The only one that mattered at the moment. He felt himself falling, wrapping around their pinky, and losing himself in them once more.

“I have you guys now and I’m not going anywhere,” they said. “You’re stuck with me forever.”

For the first time in too long…

“I’m counting on it, kid.”

Sans wanted to try.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I hope this makes sense. I am super worried about it. It's pretty much the same as the game, except without the save points/saving power. So it's like the reader is playing the game straight through without saving at all, so when they die they have to start over from the beginning. Sans is the only one that remembers the past timelines. Should I tag this as an AU?
> 
> I feel like it wasn't clear and I might go back and edit this later. I don't know. :/


	11. Settle

“Sans…”

The skeleton grinned up at you, hands shoved innocently into his pockets.

“What?” he asked.

Sans had uncharacteristically volunteered to go shopping with you in place of Papyrus. Now you knew why he was so eager to come along. You held out the box of cinnamon buns that had mysteriously appeared in your basket at some point during the trip.

“Did you put these in here?” you asked, fighting back a smile as you tried to be stern. “I thought we agreed to cut back on sweets because Papyrus got a cavity.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sans said, his tiny white pupils focusing on the ceiling and his grin was mischievous.

Oh yeah. It was definitely Sans. How did he always manage to sneak around without you ever seeing him?

“Alright, I suppose I’ll let this slide,” you said, slipping the box back into your basket. “But you know what happens if we have too much junk in the house.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sans agreed, smirking.“The _tooth_ hurts.”

The two of your burst into laughter, earning a glance from Bonneville, the rabbit-like shopkeeper, and she gave you a smile from where she stood behind the counter. Sans held a bony finger to his mouth, shushing you like it was your fault, and that only made everything funnier for some reason. The two of you couldn’t do anything together.

“Okay, okay,” you urged, trying to be serious. “What else is on the list?”

“I think we just need some lasagna noodles and milk,” Sans said, the grocery list materializing in his hand in the blink of an eye.

“Oh, and I need shampoo,” you added.

“Is all that hair really worth it?” he said, shaking his head.

Sans shuffled behind you as grabbed the last few things. You were just turning down an aisle when a blur of yellow flashed in front of eyes.

“Wah!”

A small, yellow monster landed with a thud on the floor in front of you. You winced, realizing that he had landed right on his face, but he quickly scrambled back to his feet and smiled as if it didn’t bother him. It was pretty amazing to you because you realized that his yellow and red striped shirt had no holes or sleeves. He had no arms!

“You okay, Scraggy?” Sans asked, leaning around you.

“Yeah, I’m good,” the monster, Scraggy, said in a high pitched voice, making you realize that he must have been a kid. “Yo, Sans! I haven’t seen you in awhile! Who’s your friend?”

The little monster smiled up at you expectantly as you introduced yourself. He looked an awful lot like some sort of lizard, with spikes going up the back of his head and a spiked tail projecting out from under his shirt. You couldn’t help but notice that his right eye had a dark ring around it, almost as if it had been blackened, probably from falling like he just had.

“What are you in here for, kid?” Sans asked.

“I was looking for some chocolate,” Scraggy said, looking up at the chocolate bars high above his head on the top shelf. “But I think I dropped my money outside. It’s no big deal. I’ll just have my mom get it for me later.”

“I see…” Sans said, looking up at you with a wide grin.

You were right there with him. You immediately reached up onto your tiptoes, snagging a chocolate bar from the top shelf and adding it to your basket. Scraggy’s eyes were wide, watching the candy like a hawk.

“Come on, kid,” Sans said, resting a hand on Scraggy’s head and he gently ruffled his spikes. “Let’s check out.”

The kid was a bundle of energy. He ran up to the counter and bounced in place, waiting for you to catch up. Sans chuckled at Scraggy’s antics and together you joined him at the counter.

“Did you guys find everything alright?” Bonneville asked, peering over the counter at Scraggy. “Ah, I see you picked up a little something extra today!”

Scraggy grinned up at Bonneville while you sat your basket on the counter and pulled your money out of your bag. You had everything bagged up and paid for in just a few short minutes. Scraggy ran along beside you as you and Sans carried your bags out of the shop. The candy bar was in its own small bag.

“Alright, kid,” Sans said, holding out the bag and he started to hand it over. “Promise to brush your teeth, okay?”

“Oh, wow!” Scraggy said, looking up at the both of you in awe. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” you told him.

“Thank you so much! You guys are so cool!”

Scraggy threw his small body into yours, almost like a hug but he had nothing to wrap around you. Before you could return the embrace, he had already bounced off and into Sans. It was like pinball. Sans slid the bag onto Scraggy’s tail so he could carry it.

“It was nice meeting you! Thanks again! See ya around!”

You and Sans watched as Scraggy took off full speed down the road. Both of you flinched as he slammed hard into the ground at one point, but quickly got back on his feet. He looked back at you, smiled, and waved his tail with the bag still on it before he continued on out of sight.

“You know, Sans…” you started quietly. “I never knew you liked kids so much.”

“Scraggy is a good kid,” Sans said, shrugging his shoulders.

You laughed at his off-handed response and he flushed a little. He turned his back on you, heading for the house and you followed after him, still smiling. Sans was such a softie. He treated Scraggy the same way he handled Papyrus.

As you passed through the center of town, you saw a couple fuzzy monsters surrounding a pine tree that hadn’t been there before. It was huge! They were all putting up red, green, silver, and gold decorations on it. It took your breath away.

“Christmas,” you breathed, your heart dropping to your stomach. “You guys celebrate Christmas?”

“Of course,” Sans answered, looking at you. “Don’t you?”

“Yes,” you agreed. “I just can't believe I've been here so long now. It's been...two months now? Three?”

You stopped, standing on the edge of the town square and stared. You felt somewhat alienated, watching all of the monsters decorate the tree and call each other by name like they were all friends. It reminded you that not only were you isolated up above, but you were also an outsider to Underground. An intruder.

“Hey.”

Sans’ voice at your side brought you back to reality. Even more grounding was the fact that he had reached up to grab your hand. His thick, bony fingers were so different but extremely soothing as they twined through yours.

“Let's go home,” he said, gently tugging you forward. “We’ll put up our tree tomorrow.”

How did he know how you were feeling just by looking at you? Were you that obvious or could he just read you like that? Either way, he said “home” and “our” like you were just where you were supposed to be.

“Sounds perfect.”

Like you belonged.

Sans was slightly shorter than you so he had to reach up a little so he could keep your hands connected. Still he kept a steady grip on you all the way home as though it was the most natural thing in the world and was only a little blue in the face. He still didn’t let go even when you were standing outside the front door to the house and you could hear Papyrus yelling at the TV.

“I wonder what he's going on about,” you mumbled.

“Probably trying to answer the puzzle questions,” Sans answered, chuckling.

He was still holding your hand.

You could have let go and it probably wouldn’t have been weird, but you were hesitating. Once you went inside the moment would be over. You never wanted it to end.

“You’re shaking.”

“What?” you tried to say, but it sounded choppy through your clacking teeth.

Sans was right. You hadn’t even noticed your limbs quivering as the cold weather took its toll on you. Sans’ hand slipped from yours and even though he had no body heat, you were instantly so much colder without his touch. Sans turned towards you, gripping your arms with his hands tightly.

“Come on, nerd,” Sans said, giving you a lopsided smile. “You don’t want to get sick, do you?”

If you were being honest, you might have risked it. You stood there, floundering for a second. Sans wasn’t having it. He pushed open the door and pulled you inside.

“There you are! I was beginning to worry!” Papyrus cried from the couch and he frowned at you. “Oh no! You look cold! Come inside and get warm, _home-skillet!_ ”

Sans lost it, leaning back against the door as he guffawed. Papyrus took that as a good sign and was beaming. You felt better already.

“That’s a good one, bro,” Sans said between snickers. “But you have to add ‘biscuit’ to the end.”

“Biscuit?” Papyrus asked, looking puzzled. “Home-skillet- _biscuit_?”

You and Sans were both howling now. You didn’t feel cold anymore.

“What is so funny? I don’t think I like this one. I’m going to pick another!”

This was home.

After a few minutes of giggling like idiots, you left the boys while you got started on dinner. Papyrus would probably be coming in to join you in just a few moments. Mettaton was on TV and he just had to finish the episode. Of course you didn’t mind. You were only making stir fry.

Speaking of which…

Where did all of the fresh ingredients come from? Underground was, obviously, below a mountain. Were there farms somewhere that used magic to grow food and you just hadn’t seen them yet? You really doubted it.

You were trying to distract yourself with silly thoughts, imagining up a monster farm, and it wasn't working. Your thoughts kept going back to how nice it was holding Sans' hand. It felt like that was how things were supposed to be for some reason. What had come over you?

“Don’t think too hard there. You might blow a gasket.”

Every muscle in your body tightened and your scream died in your throat. You were getting way too used to him creeping up on you. You turned around gave the skeleton a sharp glare and he smirked, sitting on the counter like that wasn’t strange at all.

“Need any help?” Sans quickly asked. “Turns out there’s an extra long episode on today.”

Good move. He knew just how to smooth over a small heart attack.

“Sure, if you want to wash the rice that would help a lot.”

You turned back to the food, stirring the chicken around the pan as it lost its pink, fleshy color and turned white. You could hear the sink come on and water splashing around. He seemed to be doing what you asked, which was good because you couldn’t feel his eye sockets on you.

You weren’t ready to face him yet.

Your feelings were too muddled at the moment. Sans stirred emotions in you that Papyrus never even got close to. That no one ever had. It was the little things like a touch on the hand, leaning into one another while laughing, or just locking eyes from across the room. It all made your heart flutter and it was starting to feel a little more than friendly.

“Rice is all rinsed. I’m going to throw it in the cooker, okay?”

“Ah, um...thanks.”

Just his voice made your heart throb. What was happening to you? Were you really starting to feel that way towards Sans? 

You were just adding the veggies to the pan when he came up to stand beside you. The kitchen wasn’t very big and his shoulder brushed against your arm. The closeness of it all was almost enough to make you dizzy.

“This is new,” Sans drawled. “It’s kinda nice not seeing any noodles.”

“Rice is sorta like a noodle,” you rambled, thoughts frayed. “Well, I guess it’s a grain but they’re pretty similar to noodles.”

“Fair enough,” Sans agreed. "I spoke too soon."

He was peering into the pan, watching as you sprinkled some soy sauce in the pan. He edged closer to you, the smooth bone of his arm sliding against your arm and his fingers were right there again, like he might just grab yours but never did.

You were going to implode.

“Um, Sans,” you blurted out, mouth moving too fast for your head to keep up. “You never told me. Are you still seeing that server? Adair?”

You wanted to smack yourself. Why would you bring that up? You just hoped he would believe your face was red from the heat of the stove.

“What?”

He leaned closer, leaving you nowhere to look but his face. He had this big, goofy grin on his face. He seemed to be trying to gauge if you were serious or not and once he realized you were, he cracked up. He was so tickled that he grabbed the counter as he roared.

“I was just kidding that time! Adair is just a friend!” Sans wheezed between laughter, holding his sides. “You thought we were together this whole time?”

“I wondered why you never brought them to dinner…” you mumbled, your face burning hotter and you stepped sideways away from him.

“Shit,” he stressed. “That is the best thing I ever heard. You're hilarious, pal.”

“I didn’t know what to think!” you snapped, stirring the stir fry with more vigor than necessary. “You were so flirty!”

“Hey, don’t get mad,” Sans insisted. “I just can’t believe you really thought that.”

Sans moved closer again, unintentionally pinning you between the counter and his body. He reached up and grabbed your hand for the second time that day. He looked pretty embarrassed himself, not at all smooth and suave like he been acting in the diner all that time ago.

“So you _are_ the jealous type then?”

He winked up at you.

“If you wanted to jump my bones so bad, all you had to do was ask.”

Oh god.

“Sans!”

You had fallen completely in love with the short, punny skeleton.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys excited? I know I am!
> 
> I've got roughly 18 chapters written/planned out so far...with more to go. So this is looking to be a longer story, which I think is fair because I generally do pretty short chapters. Does that sound okay to everyone? I might even do an Underfell au when this is all done. That's how much I freaking love Undertale/Sans.
> 
> Also thank you for all of the feedback on the "they/them" addition. It really makes me feel better to know you guys are down with it. I'm going to answer all of your comments as soon as I get done posting this. You all are freaking awesome.
> 
> Oh, yeah! If you will remember from before that server from chapter 5? I had to change their name from Aaron to Adair because it had slipped my mind that there was already a monster named Aaron. So if anyone noticed, I'm sorry. Thank you for your patience.


	12. Adorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to decorate for Christmas!

“I want to put on the star!”

“You got it, bro.”

You laughed, watching as Papyrus tore into the box of last year’s Christmas decorations while Sans stood beside him. They had to move the couch and end table over to make room for the large, pine tree, but it found its home in the corner opposite the stairs and beside the bathroom door. It was perfect.

“I have the garland!” Papyrus announced, pulling out the length of shimmery, silver plastic.

It took him mere minutes to get tangled in it, the garland snaking through his ribcage and getting snagged in the tree. You and Sans ended up having to set him free before you could wrap the garland around the branches. The whole process started over again when Papyrus found the colorful string lights, but that made it all the more fun.

“How cute!”

You found a tiny ornament in the box. It was obviously a Santa Clause, with the traditional red suit and bag of toys over his shoulder. What made it so special was the fact that it was a short, round skeleton Santa. It actually looked a lot like…

“Sans! This looks just like you!” you cried, dangling it in front of his face. “You just need a beard!”

“I do not see it,” Papyrus strongly disagreed, shaking his head.

“I can dig the clothes though. They look comfy,” Sans said.

You handed it over to Sans so he could hang it on the tree. No surprise to you, he somehow managed to get it very close to the top without moving. Too bad he wouldn’t tell you how he did that. He noticed you staring at him and gave you a grin that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame.

“Knock knock,” he said.

“Who’s there?” you asked, knowing the drill by now.

“Ho-ho.”

“Ho-ho who?”

“I think your Santa impression could use a little work.”

He was too much. As you snorted loudly, Sans’ smile somehow grew even more. Papyrus let out a loud, frustrated groan and threw his arms into the air.

“No! If you two continue with this tomfoolery I will leave!” Papyrus threatened vehemently.

You and Sans continued on, whispering jokes to each other as you continued to decorate the tree. Ever since you realized the depths of your feelings for the older skeleton, you were worried that it would make things tense between you. If you ever laughed a little too hard or flushed too much, Sans never let it ruin the easy atmosphere between you.

Just one more thing to like him for.

Since Papyrus was tall enough to reach the top without help and Sans could manage on his own, you were the only one standing on a chair to make sure the top of the tree didn’t get too bare. It was also easier to keep an eye on the overall look of the tree when you had an aerial view. Sans stood beside you, handing you the ornaments that would go up high while he nudged a few onto the bottom.

“I don’t see the star,” Sans said, glancing down into the box at his feet. “Are you sure these are all of the decorations, Pap?”

“I believe so,” Papyrus replied, scratching his skull thoughtfully. “I will go check the shed!”

Before you or Sans could say anything to stop him, Papyrus bolted out the door. Sans smiled after his brother warmly, obviously enjoying Papyrus’ good mood and anticipation for the holidays. You loved these moments more than anything else.

“Papyrus really likes having you here,” Sans said, looking up at you with one eye socket closed like he was winking but he seemed sort of serious for once. “He told me last night that it’s like we’re like a happy family.”

You looked down, stunned into silence. That was so sweet of Papyrus. You were frazzled, trying to think of a response but Sans continued.

“I agree. This place just wouldn’t feel like home without you anymore.”

Your heart instantly melted. You turned on the chair, a blurb of words on the tip of your tongue and a lump in your throat. Unfortunately you were moving too much for the chair and it tipped when you stepped too close to the edge of the seat. You yelped, going down with it.

You jammed your eyes shut, expecting a lot of pain and mess. There was the sound of  crashing from the chair, but nothing from you. Miraculously, you didn’t slam into the ground and instead fell into a very firm embrace. Your eyes flew open in confusion and found that Sans had managed to catch you before you could fall. Worse than that, he was smirking deviously.

“Did I sweep you off your feet?” Sans asked, his cheekbones  flushed slightly despite his bold words. “I can’t believe you threw yourself at me as soon as Papyrus left the room.”

Your heart couldn’t take it. There he went with the suggestive jokes again. It was almost like he was flirting with you, but that couldn’t be, right? He shouldn’t get your hopes like that.

You let out a low groan-wail, covering your face with your hands as blood pulled to your cheeks.  You could hear his bones rattling, just quieter than his chuckles. Very carefully, he helped you to your feet and back onto the chair.

“You gonna be okay up there, ya klutz?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” you told him, despite feeling the exact opposite. “So long as you stop trying to sweeten me up.”

“Heh,” Sans closed his eyes. “Don’t hold your breath.”

What? You gaped down at Sans and he didn’t meet your gaze, keeping his eye sockets shut. Before you could answer him the door slammed open.

“I found it!”

Papyrus swept into the room, holding the tree-topper. You were expecting a big, light-up star as was normal but that wasn’t what he had. It actually looked like some sort of boxy remote control or something. The longer you looked at it, the more familiar it looked.

“Wait a second,” you asked, putting your hands on your hips. “Papyrus, is that Mettaton?”

“Yes!” Papyrus answered you exuberantly, holding up the figurine proudly over his head. “He lights up! Our tree deserves the best star in all of Underground!”

You deadpanned Sans and he just shrugged. Sans would of course indulge his brother. Papyrus really loved Mettaton and you guess, technically, Mettaton was a star.

It didn’t take much longer to finish the tree, although you had a little trouble focusing on the task. Sans casually kept a hand on the back of the chair, like he was expecting you to fall again, and occasionally his fingers would skim against the back of your legs. He didn’t even seem to notice, but your insides felt like they were shaking every time it happened.

You didn’t know how much more you could take.

Mettaton was the last thing to go on. Papyrus proudly adjusted the robot until he was perfectly straight and quickly plugged in the tree. The lights blinked to life, a rainbow of colors, and the tiles on Mettaton’s front slowly pulsed from one color to the next. It all really came together nicely.

“It’s so beautiful!” Papyrus said, sniffling as a tear gathered in his eye. “Great job, _amigo_! Sans, you also put in much more effort than usual!”

“I gotta be on my best behavior,” Sans said, reaching out to straighten a strip of garland. “Or I’ll end up on the naughty list.”

“You have be good all year, brother! Which reminds me!” Papyrus boomed, slamming his fist in the palm of his other hand. “I must write a letter to Santa!”

Papyrus still believed in Santa! He was the cutest thing in the world. You promised right then to cherish and protect the pure skeleton.

“But first I must hang the outside lights!” he decided firmly, grabbing the other box full of lights and heading towards the door.

“I’ll supervise,” Sans told him, grabbing a big, green wreath from a box and followed him.

Sans threw a smile over his shoulder at you before shutting the door behind them. Knowing Papyrus, they would probably be out there for awhile. You decided to gather up all of the decorations that had gotten scattered during the decorating frenzy and put them back in the boxes for storage.

You went around picking the stray bulb, hook, or unattractive ornament that hadn't made the cut. They all fit in one box, with a few other things you had decided not to use. Glancing down into the box you recognized one, infamous piece.

Mistletoe.

You reached down and picked up the tiny decoration. The green leaves and white berries were iconic. No Christmas decor was complete without them.

You dropped the mistletoe in the box and quickly taped it shut. You didn’t need that sort of trouble floating around right now. Not when you were feeling all mushy and confused.

The brothers didn’t come back inside for about an hour, giving you plenty of time to whip up some eggnog and throw some cookies in the oven. No big deal for a pro like yourself, right? You had decided to follow Papyrus’ example and get into the spirit of things.

“It smells delicious in here!”

You heard Papyrus before you saw him. He jumped into the kitchen, very curious about baking and he fired off a thousand questions at once. Somehow he made your promise to teach him how to make cookies. How could you tell him no?

“Oh, look.”

You and Papyrus looked up to see Sans standing in the doorway. He was grinning and pointing over your heads. Together you raised your gazes and your jaw dropped. You recognized the white and green immediately.

“Mistletoe!” Papyrus crowed.

“How did that get there?” you asked, the wonder and shock apparent in your voice.

You had definitely put that away in a taped box. There was no doubt about it. You narrowed your eyes at the shorter skeleton and he just looked all the more delighted. Meanwhile, Papyrus was having a meltdown.

“Well, my dear friend...it has come to this. I know what this means and I, the Great Papyrus, would never back down from a challenge,” he monologued, a rosy blush on his cheekbones, and he had both hands pressed to his ribs dramatically. “Alright! I accept!”

You smiled up at the sweet skeleton. He was too innocent for his own good. You placed both hands on his shoulders and stood on your very tiptoes so you could reach his face. Then, very gently, you placed a kiss on his mandible.

Papyrus practically exploded in happiness. He wrapped you up in a crushing squeeze and lifted your feet off the ground for a moment.

“Thank you!” he squawked, his cheekbones bright red. "How honored you must feel to have kissed me!"

You looked over at Sans to see him smiling at you fondly again. Ha! You wouldn’t fall apart at Sans’ every prank!

“Your turn, brother!”

Papyrus snagged the mistletoe from the ceiling and pulled Sans deeper into the kitchen. Sans’ arms went up in protest, but it was too late. You and Sans were staring at one another with Papyrus dangling the mistletoe over your heads.

“Well,” Sans said, shrugging at you and he was light blue already. “I guess I shouldn’t dish it out if I can’t take it.”

You giggled giddily, feeling lightheaded as Sans reached up for you. This is exactly why you had tried hiding the mistletoe. Your heart was slamming in your chest and there just wasn’t enough air Underground for you to catch your breath. No backing out now.

You angled your head, planning on giving him a quick peck like you had done to Papyrus. Before you could, Sans cupped your face in between his hands and brought your face down to his. You couldn’t move, only close your eyes, as he pressed his teeth your lips. It definitely wasn’t a normal kiss, but…

After a long heartbeat, Sans pulled back and kept your face in his hands. He was looking up at you and he wasn’t quite smiling. His eye sockets had relaxed, half-open, and his cheekbones were dark blue. He actually looked a little dazzled.

That’s how you felt anyways.

“...so soft…” he whispered.

He almost sounded reverent, sighing deeply as held you there. His words were practically a caress to your ears, sending a shiver down your spine and your temperature through the roof. The way he was looking at you was so intimate. Like you were the only two people in the world.

“Yes, I agree! Humans are so soft!”

Sans released you as soon as Papyrus spoke, looking mortified. He took a step back, rubbing the back of his head and looking very pointedly at the ground. You were frozen in place, too far gone.

“Um,” he stammered. “Anyways, that stuff is dangerous. I should put it away.”

Sans held out his hand for the mistletoe but Papyrus raised it over Sans’ head again.

“Absolutely not! Our turn!”

Papyrus tackled Sans, trying to cover Sans’ face in kisses while Sans laughed and half-hardheartedly fended him off. You could only watch dumbly, no coherent words or thoughts floating around in your head. You were having an out of body experience. The timer on the oven started ringing and you couldn’t summon up the energy to care.

It was the way he looked at you like you were some long, lost treasure. How he gently held your face as if you were some small, delicate thing. He commented on the softness of your lips almost as if he couldn’t help himself.

Sans had kissed you.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot wait to see your comments. It only gets worse from here.
> 
> I'm super excited for Christmas. Can you tell?
> 
> EDIT: Treeni suggested that Pap had something to do with Sans' mistletoe trick, so I wrote something quick in the comments and decided to share it with all of you! It's just a small exchange, taking place while the skeleton bros are outside decorating the house.
> 
> \---
> 
> "Perfect!" Papyrus declared, hands on his hips as he stared up at the finished house.
> 
> They had lights on the roof, wrapped around the porch posts, and and lining the windows. It was all so colorful and stood out against snowy landscape. Papyrus really had a knack for grandeur.
> 
> "Pretty good, bro," Sans agreed, standing beside him. "Best in town."
> 
> "No, wait! Something is missing!"
> 
> Sans gave the house a quick once over. Everything seemed to be there. He had even pitched in, hanging the wreath on the front door. He was helpful like that.
> 
> "I didn’t see any holly in the boxes," Papyrus continued in an agitated tone. "Or mistletoe! You can't have Christmas without mistletoe hanging over the heads of unsuspecting guests, Sans! How can we all share holiday kisses without mistletoe?"
> 
> Sans chuckled and then it dawned on him. Holiday kisses?
> 
> "You know, I think you're right, Pap."


	13. Progress

Ring...ring… _click._

No one answered.

You sighed, slipping the cell phone back into your bag and buried your face into the neck of your coat. The thick fur tickling your nose was definitely preferable to the blistering cold air of Snowdin as you stood outside the only shop in town. You had ventured out into the eternal winter to pick up a few things for dinner and needed to beat Papyrus back to the house so he couldn’t start cooking without you, but you had a few since he was still with Undyne.

You weren’t surprised, not really. Toriel hadn’t answered any of your other calls, so you don't know why you expected that one to go down any differently. You had even told yourself not to get your hopes before you hit send, but the rejection still stung.

It would be nice to hear her voice just one more time...

“Ya lost, buddy?”

You turned at the now familiar, low drawl and immediately your temperature began to climb. Sans was walking your way, his hood pulled forward and a thick dusting of snow covered it. It was really coming down hard, since apparently Underground was a large enough cave system to have its own weather. Even though his hands were shoved into his pockets, he didn’t really seem to be shivering like you were and he was giving you his usual, sleepy-eyed smile.

Thank goodness.

Sans had kissed you yesterday.

Not of his own accord, of course. Papyrus and mistletoe were involved or else it never would have happened. Still, the little exchange had been so sweet that it had wreaked havoc on your heart.

Since the whole thing had been more or less forced, you were worried that things would still be awkward. You didn’t say a word to each other yesterday, letting Papyrus’ chatter fill the silence. Sans wouldn’t even look at you before rushing out for the night, probably to Grillby’s, and you don’t think he ever came home, since it took you forever to fall asleep.

You had thought your friendship was over.

“Do you need a map?” he continued. “I’ll get Papyrus right on that.”

“No, I was just taking a moment,” you replied, pushing your dark thoughts into an even darker corner of your mind for now and you held up the few bags of groceries you had. “Does chicken and noodles sound okay for dinner? I wasn’t sure what to get, but I thought we should stick with something similar to spaghetti for Papyrus’ sake.”

“Sure,” Sans said. “I think he can handle that.”

A weird mixture of relief and disappointment flooded your brain, making you feel a little unhinged. It seemed like the two of you were acting like the kiss had never happened. Maybe you could have brushed it off if it had been anything like Papyrus’, but it wasn’t. Sans had seemed so… _so_...

No.

That sort of thinking meant raised expectations and a broken heart.

“You heading back now?” he asked, holding out a skeletal hand, fingers splayed like he was waiting for you to give him something.

“Yes…?” you responded, slowly reaching out with your palm facing downwards and rested your hand lightly on his. You weren’t sure what he wanted. “Boo yah?”

It was not a sweet gesture or holding hands by any means. It was more along the lines of the most awkward high five ever. His broad smile twitched.

“Pfftt...”

Sans started out snickering and ended up doubled over, arm wrapping around his torso as if he were trying to hold his bones together as he chortled. You took your hand back, feeling your face heat, and you gaped at him in confusion.

“What did I just miss?” you demanded. “Why are you laughing at me?”

Sans was still chuckling and straightened up, His face was practically glowing in mirth and his cheekbones were dusted with a light blue flush. You couldn’t help but acknowledge how adorable he was when he got all flustered like that. There was no denying it now.

You really loved him.

“You tickle my funny bone, pal,” he told you as if he were paying you the highest of compliments.

He then took one of the bags from you and started in the direction of the house. You were rooted the spot, staring after him, and not sure what had just happened.

“Coming?” he called over his shoulder.

You ran after him.

“Wait, were you just offering to help me carry things?”

He started chucking again.

“Sans! I don’t get it! Do I owe you money?”

He never did explain and eventually you got tired of being laughed at. You were still irritated by the time you got home, putting away the groceries with a little more force than was probably necessary. You weren’t even surprised when Sans appeared at your side as if he had been there all along,

“Come on, buddy,” Sans said, taking a can from your hand and placing it gently in the cabinet. “Are you _skull_ -king?”

“I’m not sulking,” you replied sourly, not giving him the satisfaction of a smile. “I just prefer to laugh with you, Sans, but I can’t if I don’t get the joke.”

He didn’t say anything. You kept on putting away the groceries until nothing was left and you were forced to face him. He was watching you with wary eyes, tight smile, and he had one hand on the back of his neck.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. My bad,” he said quietly, looking genuinely apologetic. “Next time I’ll clue you in.”

Okay. Maybe you were being a little oversensitive. If you had to guess why, it probably had to do with the fact that you were so upside down when it came to him. That wasn’t really his fault and was it worth hurting him?

Absolutely not.

“Knock knock.” you said.

“Who’s there?” he asked, not missing a beat.

“Control freak.”

“Con--” Sans started, but you cut him off.

“Okay, now you go: ‘control freak who?’”

You both filled the kitchen with laughter. The tension cleared at once and he relaxed instantly. He nodded for you to follow him to the living room. The both of you plopped down onto the couch.

“Your turn,” you demanded playfully.

“Let me think…” Sans mumbled, flopping over the armrest as usual. “I got one. Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Butch, Jimmy, and Joe.”

You cocked your head at him. That was an odd one. He only grinned up at you, his mouth halfway hidden by his folded arms as he rested his head on them. You had no choice.

“Butch, Jimmy, and Joe who?”

“Butch your arms around me, Jimmy me a kiss, and let’s Joe.”

Ah…

The blood began creeping up your neck and you forced a quiet chuckle. You actually didn’t think that one was funny at all and all of your efforts to forget yesterday suddenly felt suffocating. So much for moving on.

“T-that reminds me,” you stumbled over your words, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah?”

“Christmas is coming. What do you want?”

Sans considered you from the corner of his eye sockets. He seemed thoughtful.

“I know you get into the Christmas spirit,” you quickly added before he could try to tell you otherwise. “Papyrus told me about how Santa comes to visit him every year because he’s such a good monster.”

You waggled your eyebrows at him, giving him your best ‘I’m onto to you” look. He immediately buried his face further into his arms, as if he could hide from the truth.

“Dang,” Sans muttered. “Well...I hadn’t really thought about it.”

He sat up, one hand on the back of his skull, and he averted his gaze.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Me?” you asked, surprised. “Nothing. Between you and Papyrus, I don’t need anything else. I want to repay your kindness though. So tell me what you want.”

“Er…”

Before Sans could answer, your phone went off and you practically dived for your bag on the floor. Ignoring Sans’ startled stare, you quickly fished it out and answered, pressing it against your ear.

“Hello?”

“ _Sidekick!_ ”

Oh. Your heart sunk all the way down to your toes. It was just Papyrus. You don’t know why you thought it would be anyone else.

“H-hey, Pap,” you greeted weakly, falling back onto the couch. “What’s up?”

“I’m calling to check on you and Sans,” Papyrus continued. “And to ask you, for no particular reason, what your favorite color was?”

So Papyrus was thinking about the holidays too?

You continued on the conversation, answering Papyrus’ not-at-all obvious questions and he told you that he would not be having his lesson with Undyne, but he would also not be home. He was talking a million miles an hour and then had to suddenly go, hanging up on you mid-goodbye. It was nice to hear that he was as full of energy as ever.

“Pap’s going to miss dinner,” you told Sans, slipping your phone back into your bag. “Something about being talked into anime night and Dr. Alphys? I take it that means something to you because I don’t know.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sans replied, eyes flickering up from your bag and he gave you an easy smile. “The royal scientist.”

Royal scientist? That sounded like an awfully important person. It was surprising to think of some stuffy, old scientist watching anime with the head of the royal guard. Underground was unique.

“How do you guys have anime down here?” you asked.  “Actually, how do you have any of the technology that you do?”

“It falls into the trash dump in Waterfall,” Sans explained. “Then people like Alphys tinker with it and figure out how to utilize it. You humans throw away a lot of useful stuff.”

That was a fairly spot on observation.

“And that includes anime?” you asked.

“Yup. And that cell phone you have,” Sans continued. “Entertainment is stretched a little thin down here.”

“That explains Mettaton.”

The look Sans gave you spoke volumes. He obviously agreed. It wasn’t that you hated Mettaton. It was just when he was on nine of ten TV shows and Papyrus needed to watch every single one…Well, overexposure was definitely a thing.

“Wanna order pizza since Pap won’t be here?” Sans asked, his phone in his hand.

“Sure,” you agreed, not feeling up to cooking anyways.

Sans’ fingers flew over screen, creating a fast click-clacking pattern. He wasn’t usually on it, at least when you were around. You noticed his phone was a much newer model than your own. Monsters with smart phones.

“Are you texting for pizza?” you asked him. “I can only make calls on mine.”

“Cuz you’re a nerd.”

Sans laughed when you lightly pushed him into the armrest. He put his phone back into his pocket, grabbed the remote, and started flipping through channels to find something to watch. It didn’t take long for you both of you to stretch out on the couch, your legs gradually getting tangled up together.

Sans didn’t look like he gave it a second thought, eye sockets on the TV. Why would he? Your heart, on the other hand, was slamming against your chest. He noticed you staring at him and grinned.

“Nose goes when the pizza gets here,” Sans declared, lazily pressing a finger to the upside down, heart-shaped hole at the center of  his face.

“Excuse me, lazy bones,” you argued. “You don’t have a nose. You can’t call nose goes.”

“That’s discrimination,” he countered.

Welp. He had you there. Though when the doorbell rang, Sans was already up and heading for the door like he had been expecting it. It was kinda...spooky.

While you guys were in the middle of stuffing your faces with hot, cheesy pizza, you glanced over at the Christmas tree and noticed that Mettaton was a little crooked on the top. Papyrus would definitely notice as soon as he got home. That reminded you though.

“You never answered me,” you spoke up. “Christmas presents. Go.”

A few minutes passed in silence. Sans seemed to be thinking. Or lost in pizza. Either was acceptable.

“I don't know,” he said eventually. “Buy me a drink at Grillby’s and we’ll call it even.”

“Sans,” you chastised. “You always say that and I probably owe you a hundred drinks by now because you never accept them when I try.”

He just chuckled. You knew he did it on purpose. He never would let you pay him back for anything.

“Okay, fine. How about you come get a drink with me then?”

You glanced over at him, surprised to see him facing you and he was all blue again. That almost sounded like a date. That was enough to send your heart soaring through the roof, but he kept talking.

“Me and you. Grillby’s tomorrow night after Pap goes to bed.”

Sans was going to be the end of you.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoooort chapter. At least it seems like it to me. SO I'll be posting another one tomorrow or later tonight! I am sorry it's been taking me so long to update. I was really struggling with chapter 16 and I finally am satisfied with it, so I felt like I could start posting again. I'm going to try updating every three days, tops. 
> 
> DID YOU GUYS SEE? OH MY GOSH. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH. THANK YOU READING, COMMENTING, KUDOS, ANYTHING. YOU ARE THE BEST.
> 
> Kudos: 744 Bookmarks: 76 Hits: 10566


	14. Trundle

Papyrus really didn’t sleep.

Not for long anyways.

That was something you found out real fast in the skeleton brothers’ house as you entered your fourth month Underground. Every night Sans would put him to bed and read him a bedtime story. In just a few short, short hours he would be fully recharged and set to function at his highest setting. His abundant energy and cheery disposition endeared him to you, truly it did, but…

You needed to sleep. You really, _really_ liked to sleep if you were being honest. Before falling into the ruins, it had been you favorite pastime.

Now you were just barely snagging a couple hours before Papyrus would be up and moving. That would have been fine and dandy if you had some walls to muffle the sounds of him crashing through the house at ungodly hours. Maybe some earplugs, but no. You only had a blanket and pillow to hide under, which didn’t quite cut it.

Then there was Sans. Thoughts of him had stolen hours of sleep away from you since you had accepted that you liked him more than a friend. A lot more. That was a whole different sort of can of worms and most of it was your own doing.

You weren’t complaining really. The skeleton brothers had really invited you into every aspect of their lives without batting an eye. You would never be so ungrateful.

You were just tired as hell.

The week of mostly sleepless nights was finally catching up with you. You were sitting at the bar at Grillby’s, nursing a glass of orange juice and glancing at your phone to check the time. Papyrus’ went to bed early enough, but not at least for another hour or two. You thought it would be better to come early, just so you didn’t end up falling asleep at the house and missing your plans. You wondered if you could last that long.

“Are you okay?”

You looked up from where you had been sorta drooping in the stool. Grillby was peering at you through his glasses, looking as concerned as a person made of fire could look. He was a darling.

“Yeah, thanks,” you said, supporting your head with your hand as you talked. “Just been a little tired lately. How are you, Grillby?”

His flames flared suddenly, like he was embarrassed to be asked. How cute!

“O-oh, you know,” Grillby stammered, shrugging. “Same as ever. It's been less busy since Christmas is around the corner.”

“Are you going to get something awesome for Florence?” you asked, referring to the green, flame girl you had seen around a few times now with her girlfriend, Patrice.

“Yes,” Grillby said, always happy to talk about his beloved daughter. “But it's a secret!”

“Fair enough,” you said, smiling at him. “Make sure Santa brings you something nice too. You deserve it, Grillby.”

He was scorching, somewhere between pleased and flustered. What an adorable flame man. You wondered idly if he was single but you were quickly mentally scolding your errant thoughts. Like you needed to draw anymore attention to yourself.

...and he was made out fire. How would that work? Never mind. It was better to let that whim pass quickly. You had enough romance issues to worry about with a skeleton.

“I’ll write him a letter,” Grillby stuttered out, tugging on his collar. “How has Sans been? He doesn’t come in as much anymore.”

“I think he’s okay. You can ask him when he gets here. He’ll be here in a little while,” you told him, taking another sip of your juice. “Did he used to come in here a lot?”

“Most nights,” Grillby answered, picking up his rag from somewhere behind the counter. “He was our most regular regular.”

“You don’t say?” you replied, lips pressing together as you considered that.

Grillby had to leave to tend to the other customers, leaving you to think about Sans. He was home every night for dinner, although he did disappear for lengths of time without explanation and always showed back up just as you needed him for something. He even let you run the hot dog stand on your own now while he took care of his other sentry posts. You didn’t know what he did the rest of the time.

You didn’t actually know much about Sans at all.

You wanted to change that. Even if it was just as friends. He had become so dear to you so quickly. You couldn’t imagine your life without him anymore.

You sat your head down on the counter, just to rest your heavy eyes for a second. Grillby’s was always nice and warm, probably due to the owner being literally on fire. The noise of people talking and moving around actually sounded kinda nice with your eyes closed, fading into a soft hum in the background. Your mind drifted, thinking to yourself  that you could have nodded off right there…

And you did.

“Oh, buddy...”

You knew that voice. It sounded different though. Muffled. Like it was swathed in cotton or clouds.

“...yeah, thanks Grillbz. I owe ya.”

You felt something touch your head, ruffling lightly, and your eyes fluttered of their own accord. You were dragged reluctantly from sleep. You peered up at the face hovering near yours and you recognized the smooth, whiteness of a skull and that constant, sleepy-eyed smile.

“Sans?” you mumbled, sitting up and rubbing your face.

“Hey there, dopey,” Sans responded, grinning down at you. “Grillby’s isn't the first place I would pick for a nap, you know?”

Oh. Right.

You looked around, recognizing the restaurant and realized that you had fallen asleep at the bar. Also, someone had snagged your coat from the coat rack and slipped it around your shoulders. You glanced up and saw Grillby watching you nervously from across the counter.

“I’m sorry,” you told him, shame-faced. “I won’t do it again, Grillby.”

“No, no! Please don’t be,” he said, flickering like someone had tried and failed to blow

him out. “I was just worried about you and I didn’t know what to do! You can sleep as long as you like!”

He quickly scurried down the bar to fill up another monster’s drink and occasionally threw you shy glances as if to check if you were still there. Sans hopped onto the stool next to and watched the exchange with a smirk.

That’s it. You needed to know.

“Is he single?” you asked Sans, quietly whispering.

Sans stiffened beside you for just a second. Like your question had caught him off guard but he quickly recovered and threw you a wry grin.

“Grillbz?” Sans asked, chuckling. “Yeah. Is he too _hot_ for you to handle? He is pretty _smoking_.”

“No,” you hissed, leaning heavily into him and he snickered. “He’s just so sweet. I want him to find eternal happiness.”

“Well, maybe you could ask for his number,” Sans suggested. “Make _sparks_ fly.”

“You’re ridiculous,” you told him, giggling. “Well since Adair didn't work out, you could try to _heat_ things up with Grillby instead?”

“Nope,” Sans told you. “Call me Sans. Sans the bonely skeleton.”

Ah. You had to jam you mouth shut to stop yourself from offering to fix that for him and you covered it with a nervous titter. What was wrong with you?

“Uh, yeah. I’m in the same boat. We have each other. Oh, and Papyrus, of course,” you blabbered, pulling your phone out of your pocket as if to escape your raving and your heart skipped a beat when you realized that two hours had passed. “Holy crap! I slept for that long?”

“Yeah,” Sans said. “I just got done reading to Pap when Grillby called. Why were you here so early and dozing off?”

You fiddled with your now warm glass of orange juice, hesitating. You definitely couldn’t tell Sans that between him and his brother, you weren’t sleeping much anymore. You definitely didn’t want to appear unappreciative and things would get weird fast if you told Sans the part about him running through your brain every time you let your mind wander.

“I guess I’m still adjusting to Papyrus’ sleep schedule,” you told him, a half truth.

“If you’re tired, we can always do this another night,” Sans offered.

He was giving you his signature smile, like he didn’t have a care in the world. Still, his words sounded a little flat to you. Like he would actually be disappointed.

“No, no,” you assured him. “He doesn’t need as much sleep as humans do, I guess. You sleep a normal amount though. Or at least it seems like it.”

“I’m up and down a lot. You never hear me,” Sans said. “I whisper weird things in your ear on the way to kitchen though so you’ll have strange dreams. Like ‘Moldsmal dance off’ and ‘pro wrestling champ Mettaton.’ Does it work?”

You stared at him with narrowed eyes and he just grinned back. Was he joking or not? It was so hard to tell with him sometimes.

“I’m gonna say that’s a _fibia_ ,” you finally decided, poking him in the arm.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he admitted, smirking. “I do go to the kitchen a lot though. I’m just quieter than Papyrus.”

You shrugged. That definitely made sense, seeing as how he could almost teleport from one place to another. Oddly enough, that quick nap and Sans’ sudden appearance had you feeling rejuvenated.

“I can’t live on your couch forever,” you said glumly. “But there are no houses Underground. Or apartments.”

“Yeah,” Sans agreed. “It’s pretty full down here. But no one is rushing you out the door.”

“You say that now while everyone is getting along and we’re decorating the tree together. There will come a day where we’re fighting over the shower and somebody ate all of the cereal,” you assured him. “Trust me. Roommate situations always go sour eventually. I’ll go live in the sentry station.”

“Hate to break it to you, buddy,” Sans began. “But I really don’t see that working out. There’s not even a bathroom.”

“There are some trees. And leaves.”

Sans snickered and you smiled too, though it was a little bleak. Not for the first time you thought back to Toriel and the warm bed she had offered you. Even though your time with her was short, she loved you like you were family. She was the closest thing to a mother you ever had and you had just left her behind.

You probably should have just stayed. You wouldn’t be bumming it with Sans and Papyrus. You especially would be safe from Undyne or any of the Royal Guard. Whatever motivating force that had pushed you from Toriel’s care had vanished, leaving you lost and unsure about what to do next.

You felt empty.

“Hey, you alright kid?” Sans’ asked, breaking through your depressing inner monologue. “You’re looking a little down.”

You looked up at him and felt your heart constrict in your chest. He was smiling at you, of course he was, but his eye sockets were tight with concern. He was too good to you. If you hadn’t gone through that door then...

“How about I buy you a drink?” he asked. “It might lift your _spirits_.”

...you never would have met the skeleton brothers. Never met Sans.

“Okay,” you agreed, smiling at him. “But I’m buying this time. No trying to pay before me either. And I’m still getting you a Christmas present!”

“Fine, bossy.”

He made you feel whole.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CUE THE MUSIC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpTpPmrbwvI
> 
> SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS
> 
> Haven't things been going so great so far? Haven't they been so happy?
> 
> Wouldn't be a shame if something bad were to happen...?
> 
> Some of you guys asked for a warning before the angst started and this is your warning. It won't be right off the bat, but it's coming. And sorry it's another shorty. I'll post the next one tomorrow too, which is aaaalso another short, but the one after that is pretty long. SO. Be patient with me. :) Thank you all so much for you support. I love you all.


	15. Standstill

You didn’t know where you were.

It was dark and you couldn’t really move. Your body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, almost as if something heavy was holding you down. You wriggled around slightly, but immediately had to stop. Your body buzzed painfully in response to the movement and a wave of nausea washed over you.

No moving.

Your eyes were starting to adjust to the dark and you looked up. There was a window directly behind you, filtering in dim light through a thick curtain, and you could see that you were laying in a bed. You had to close your eyes for a moment, the strain of looking around in the ill-lit room only made your pounding headache worse.

Then you realized.

You weren’t alone.

That heavy weight you felt on top of you was _snoring_.

Your eyes shot open, heart pounding out of control in your chest, and the queasiness was rolling over you like high tide. You pushed yourself up slightly and peered down past your chest. There was no flesh or hair to distinguish him, just bones and a white t-shirt that said “BONE ZONE” with an arrow pointing down.

Sans.

He didn’t smile in his sleep.

That was first thing you noticed once you recognized that it was him. His teeth were still his most prominent feature, but his jaw was more slack than when he was awake and you understood that he could move the skull around his mouth like facial muscle somehow to make expressions. His mouth formed a more neutral, relaxed expression as he slept. Like he wasn’t trying so hard.

He looked so peaceful.

He was nestled up beside you, his skull resting on your abdomen and a skeletal arm was wrapped low around your hips. You recognized the ridges, bumps, and grooves that set him apart from you as his was body was pressed against yours. His t-shirt was riding up to reveal the empty space where a stomach would be if he had one and you could see that his chest was empty behind his sternum. No heart. As he breathed, his ribcages flexed like invisible lungs were filling and pushing them out.

You really wanted to stick your hand in there.

You smacked that impulse down. That would be so rude and wrong to do that while he was sleeping. It was just so interesting. He looked pretty similar to a normal human skeleton, but his bones appeared to be slightly thicker and maybe even longer to give him a more plump shape. He stayed together without any muscles, tendons, or anything. He could do everything you could without any sensory organs and more, like talk without vocal chords or close his eye sockets without eyelids.

He was amazing.

You looked around the room, assuming that it was Sans’. You had never seen it before because Sans always kept it locked and never invited you inside. It was fairly messy, with laundry strewn all over the floor, some papers at the the foot of the bed, empty food wrappers overflowing the trash can, and a cluttered computer desk. His desktop computer, sitting in the corner opposite the bed, was completely surrounded by soda cans, water bottles, books, and even more papers.

You had expected as much...

So how did you end up in Sans’ bed?

You thought back to last night, trying to remember the events that lead up to your current situation. You remembered buying Sans a beer and you drank something fruity that Grillby suggested, after firmly warning you that it was strong. Then Sans ordered a couple shots for you and…

Everything else was coming up blank.

It was like a drunken one night stand.

You laid back, bringing your arm up to cover your face and your cheeks burned. That was such a strange thought. You and Sans were snuggled up like two bugs in a rug, but that was obviously as far as the situation went. Sans was a skeleton. He didn’t have anything to make more happen anyways.

...no matter what his shirt said.

Sans shifted on top of you, his snores breaking off, and he buried his face into your stomach more. That only made you more embarrassed. This had never happened to you before. It was almost like you were lovers, cuddling in bed together after…

Is this what it would be like if he loved you back?

Tears sprung to your eyes and you swallowed hard past the lump in your throat, trying to move away from wistful thinking. What do you do now? You didn’t want to get up and wake him up. He looked so tranquil and serene.

Would it be wrong to go back to sleep?

You closed your eyes and turned into his embrace just a little, leaving you flushing more as he pulled you closer. Despite being made of bones, he was a pretty cozy bed mate once you adjusted to avoid any pointy edges and he didn’t really have any odor. He started snoring again, softer this time, and surprisingly you could feel his breath on your stomach. It was neither hot nor cold, like a soft breeze on a perfect day, and you found yourself falling into the same pattern.

You could probably get used to this. It definitely beat sleeping on the lumpy couch with Papyrus banging around in the kitchen. Not that you were complaining. It was just that laying there with Sans was probably the most comfortable thing you had ever experienced in your whole life.

Sleep came easily...

_You felt your sins crawling up your back._

“Don’t make me do this.”

You were standing in a lengthy, marble corridor and the high ceilings loomed over you, reminiscent of cathedral. Tall pillars stretched floor-to-ceiling along length of the room on both sides and light poured in through the stained glass windows, painting everything orange as if to mimic the setting sun they didn’t have. Your body, the pillars, and another figure ahead cast long, ominous shadows.

A skeleton was blocking your path and breathing hard, almost like he was human. Sweat dripped off his skull and his smile was pinched tight with anguish. Two dragon-like, skull heads floated in air beside him, with sharp teeth and jaws that opened sideways to shoot beams of energy so fast that you could barely dodge them. His left eye was smoldering, eerie blue flames billowing from the socket, but the glow slowly faded until he was staring at you with two dark, empty holes.

What did the creature call itself? Something ridiculous, like all the rest of the monsters you had destroyed along the way. Oh, right. _Sans._

“Don’t you remember anything?” he began, pleading with you. “We were friends. We were--”

You took a step forward and his voice broke.

“Please,” Sans continued. “You have to know. Just stop and think about it a little harder. Let’s just forget this ever happened and go back to before. Reset it again. I know you can.”

You were sick of conversation. You took another step, gripping the knife tighter in your palm, and he placed a bony hand over his face. His shoulders were shaking with silent sobs even though you could see that he was still smiling through his fingers. Or maybe he was laughing. Disgusting.

“Please reset...Bring Papyrus back. Be different this time. I still believe in ya, kid. Please…”

You kept moving, your soul floating just a step in front of you as you did. It pulsed, having grown so much stronger throughout your journey as you slayed every monster that had been in your way. Sans slid his hand slowly down his face and the ghostly glow was back in eyes, burning brighter than before. His sorrowful smile was replaced with a sneer, like you were the scum of the earth.

You couldn’t care less.

“Fine,” Sans hissed. “I’ll make you reset. I can’t afford not to care anymore!”

He jerked his left arm up sharply and you were dragged upward by your soul, which had turned the same, glowing blue as his eye socket. You recognized this attack from the beast’s vanquished brother, but it was slightly different this time. Your limbs were locked in place, spectral smoke sticking to your body like a second skin and you could feel the weight of his power smothering you. You did not drop your blade, even though you could feel some unseen force trying to pry your fingers apart.

He kept his hand raised, suspending you there for a moment.

“If we were ever really friends….if you ever really cared about me...about us at all…”

He slammed you back down to the marble floor without warning, hard and fast. You let out a strangled scream, all of the air rushing from your lungs and your ears were ringing from the impact. You tried to scramble to your feet but everything was spinning and before it settled, he threw you against a pillar and it cracked from the force. Again and again he smashed you around the room, too fast for you to get your bearings and you soul started to chip away, shattering….

_“Don’t come back!”_

Loud banging yanked you harshly into consciousness and your fuzzy eyes took a moment to clear. You vaguely remembered that you were in Sans’ room. A horrible, gut-wrenching terror hung over you, as if you just had the most horrible nightmare. You tried to remember it, but the more you thought about it, the further it slipped away. Guilt lingered in your chest, but you had no idea why.

“Brother!”

Finally Sans stirred and then seemed realized you were there. He started to scramble off of you, blinking heavy eye sockets and rubbing his face. You propped yourself up on elbows while Sans knelt over you and you stared at one another for a long moment, ignoring the clamor outside the room.

“Sans!”

It eventually registered that it was Papyrus yelling.

“Our human friend is missing! I cannot find them anywhere!”

Sans seemed to have found his thought process.

“They’re in here with me, bro,” he called, sitting back from you and turning towards the door. “We’ll be out in a few.”

“Oh…”

Papyrus was quiet for a second.

“You had a sleepover without me? I think that is quite unfair!”

You heard Papyrus clamber downstairs and you laughed at the irrationality of it all, still somewhat delirious. Sans turned to you, gazing at you in incredulity and he still wasn’t smiling. You realized that his entire skull was flushed dark blue and that instantly brought blood to your cheeks.

“Uh…” Sans mumbled, averting his gaze . “So….”

He was sweating.

“Knock knock…”

You pursed your lips. You really shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Who’s there?”

“Annie.”

“Annie who?”

You knew what was coming next.

“Annie way you can tell me what happened last night?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there seemed to be some serious worry about the angst. SO I decided to add a few more short, fluffy chapters to soften to blow. Try to sweeten the pot, a tad. <3 Love you guys. 
> 
> Also Wednesday - Friday/Saturday I probably won't be able to post. It's my boyfriend's birthday and we'll be busy with his family stuff. However, I will try to find some time in there somewhere. Thank you so for being patient with me!


	16. Mutual

This was a whole new level of uncomfortable.

“Look, sidekick! Since I could not find you earlier, I recreated your recipes on my own and prepared you a wonderful breakfast!”

So it was official. You were apparently “sidekick” now since Papyrus had called you that a handful of times and the nickname seemed to have stuck. That was fine. It was much more acceptable than “brochacho” or “homie.”

You gave Papyrus a small, strained smile and looked down at your plate. The pancakes were a little burnt, but the eggs and bacon had turned out really well. Papyrus had improved so much.

“It’s great, bro,” Sans complimented quietly.

You looked up to see him shoveling forkfuls in between his teeth almost mechanically, managing to smile too widely even while he ate because he wasn’t chewing. Papyrus didn’t give you a chance to discuss anything before demanding that you all eat together at the dining table, forcing you and Sans to sit right across from each other. He looked like he would have rather been anywhere else in the world at the moment, white pupils transfixed on the food with a worrying intensity and he was still sweating.

You didn’t even know what to think.

Sure, holding hands and flirty pick-up lines were okay. Even the occasional, situational kiss or catching you when you fell was completely acceptable. Waking up together in his bed, with no memory of how you got there or anything else that happened before that...

Everything was _ruined_.

“I would also like to suggest that the next time you two have a sleepover, you invite me,” Papyrus said, trying his best not to look or sound jilted. “It is only polite.”

A minute ticked by and no one had anything to say.

“You had already gone to bed, Papyrus,” you apologized, quickly filling the silence. “How about we have one this weekend? We can make a blanket fort in the living room, make popcorn, and watch all of your favorite movies. Sound fun?”

“Hmm,” Papyrus considered, stroking his chin with a gloved hand. “I will have to check my schedule. I am an extremely busy skeleton.”

You smiled, waiting as he made a show of pulling out his phone to look at the calendar. He was perfect. It didn’t even take thirty seconds.

“Well, it looks like I can squeeze you in! I must compile a list of all of the best Mettaton movies!”

You sighed in relief. That crisis was averted without much trouble. Thank goodness Papyrus was more on the naive side or else he would have been much more suspicious upon finding you in his brother’s bedroom.

“That really hit the spot, Pap. Thanks,” Sans spoke up, standing from his chair and his plate had suddenly vanished into thin air. “I’ll be back later.”

“No seconds? Well, alright!” Papyrus chattered on, obviously used to Sans’ coming and going.

Sans had pulled his coat over his shoulders and was at the door before you could blink. You couldn’t let things end like this. You stood too, ready to call out, but…

You were afraid.

Sans shut the door behind him and was gone.

“Sidekick?” Papyrus asked hesitantly. “Are you fighting with my brother?”

“Oh, um…” you slumped back into your chair. “No. It’s not like that.”

But what was it like? You didn’t even know where to begin. You had feelings for Sans, yes, but you just wanted to be his friend. You couldn’t ask for more than that because it was already so much more than you felt you deserved. So why did things keep getting so mixed up?

“I know Sans can be difficult at times,” Papyrus went on. “I think that he just does not know how to communicate his feelings, but he usually means well.”

The sensitive skeleton was surprisingly more insightful than he let on. Maybe he was just always acting oblivious? You reached over and gave his hand a squeeze.

“Thank you, Papyrus,” you told him. “I will keep that in mind.”

Papyrus smiled at you, appeased, and went on to wash the dishes. You sat there, considering his words and trying work through where you went from there. What could you do to fix this? You had no clue, but…

“I’ll be back, Pap!”

You had to do _something_.

You grabbed your coat and bag from the rack, haphazardly threw them on, and charged out the door. As soon as you did, the wind picked up and cut right through you. You took a second to rip the zipper on your coat up and drew the hood over your head before you took off running into town. You knew the first place to check.

You were out of breath by the time you reached Grillby’s, but you shoved open the door anyways and ducked inside. The snow you tracked in immediately began to melt and dry in the hot restaurant. It was mostly empty inside, obviously not open yet because it was much too early. All of the chairs were flipped upside down on the tables and Grillby was just starting to take them down.

“Oh!” Grillby jumped and nearly dropped a chair as you busted in on him. “Are you alright?”

“Y....Yeah,” you gasped, ducking your head in between your knees as you tried to catch your breath. “Sans hasn’t been here, has he?”

“Sans? No, he hasn’t,” Grillby answered, setting the chair down. “We don’t open for a little while...but you’re welcome to come in, of course!”

“Thanks, but um, why are doing this alone?” you asked, looking around. “Doesn’t Adair usually open with you?”

“Oh, right. Adair,” Grillby said in a small voice and he was scorching again. “They quit yesterday...but I’m sure they had a good reason!”

You straightened up and smiled at the monster. He was so considerate. If you could not remember anything else about the last night, you could remember how he didn’t mind when you fell asleep at the bar and had recommended some crazy, sweet drink for you to try. Monster drinks were so much more potent than human drinks, which probably explained why things went the way they did. Which reminded you...

“Hey, Grillby, Sans and I were here drinking last night, right?”

He nodded, pushing his glasses up as if to see you better. He didn’t have eyes. Whatever. Not the point.

“I don’t remember anything that happened,” you asked. “Could you fill me in?”

He looked a little nervous at your question, adjusting the cuffs on his button-up shirt. You glanced around and realized that he had a lot to do by himself. You immediately stepped forward to start taking down chairs with him.

"You don’t have to do that,” he stammered.

“I don’t mind.”

“Well, if you insist…”

“So,” you pressed, quickly moving from one table to the next. “We didn’t cause you any trouble, did we?”

“Oh, no. Of course not,” Grillby assured you, working around you. “You two just sat there telling each other jokes and ordering more drinks. At one point you guys tried doing karaoke, but we don’t have a machine and the jukebox doesn’t work, so…”

He trailed off, as if that was explanation enough. You could feel your cheeks burning already. That painted a pretty clear picture.

“After a little while I decided to cut you off, just so you guys could get home okay. I wanted to call Papyrus, just to make sure, but you guys insisted you were fine and uh...stumbled out the door.”

Okay. That wasn't so bad. At least you guys hadn’t done anything crazy embarrassing like strip or destroy the restaurant. You could live with acting like a fool. Now all you needed to figure out is what happened between Grillby's and the morning.

You quickly helped him set up all of the tables in exchange for his information and thanked him before bolting out the door. He may have called something after you, but you were too focused on finding Sans to go back and you made a mental note to talk to him later. Where would Sans be if not Grillby’s? You couldn’t really envision him going to work right now, but it was worth a shot.

You backtracked all the way through Papyrus’ puzzles to the sentry station, not having the convenience of Sans’ shortcuts. You had to be careful since Papyrus changed his puzzles and traps almost daily. While the creator was not necessarily malicious, you knew his puzzles could end you in a second if you didn’t watch where you were going.

Finally you could see the outpost ahead and you sprinted to it quickly.

“Sans!”

You practically threw yourself over the counter, leaning in to see inside the shack. It was just as cold inside as it was outside, the heater sitting there quiet and off in the corner. No one had been there yet today.

Dejected, you turned back towards the path. Where else did Sans frequent? He kept to himself so much that you couldn’t think of anywhere he could be. Maybe the hot dog stand or another sentry station?

Then it dawned on you that you were a moron.

You tore open your bag and pulled out your cell phone. You had to search for Sans in your contacts, never having called him before, and quickly hit send. It started ringing and a tight ball of anxiety, heavy like lead, settled in your abdomen.

You closed your eyes and the air was frozen in your chest. What if he didn’t answer? What if he never wanted to hear from you again…

...like Toriel?

A click interrupted the ringing.

“Yo.”

You collapsed to your knees right there in the snow, his voice providing immediate relief to your woeful thoughts. You let out one, big exhale. You could breathe again.

“I didn’t think you would answer,” you managed.

“Well, I hate to disappoint ya, pal,” he said, chuckling dryly. “But that would go against my nature.”

Oh, Sans. You knew he was trying to be funny, but he just sounded so sad. 

Static crackled across the line, amplifying the silence. You didn’t know what to say. Sans offered no respite to the empty air. You just sat there, listening to each other breathe.

“I talked to Grillby.”

Finally. You had found your voice.

“Yeah?” Sans asked.

“We didn’t make total asses of ourselves,” you told him. “He said we kept our clothes on and everything.”

Maybe that was in poor taste, considering the situation but you hoped that would make him laugh. Break the tension. Anything.

“Kid, everything is fine,” he drawled, obviously catching on. “I just needed some fresh air.”

“Sans, you don’t need to breathe,” you protested.

“Hey, it was a _lung_ shot.”

You snickered and then groaned. No. Now was not the time to be charmed by him. Just as you were about to steer the conversation back to last night, he spoke again. His voice was so soft, almost like a sigh.

“So are ya gonna leave now?”

Leave Snowdin? Why would he think that you would want to do that? Or worse. Did he want you to go? Something deep inside your chest broke at the thought.

“Sans,” you choked out, tears streaming down your cheeks without restraint. “Do you hate me now?”

You could take him not returning your feelings. You could even handle the awkwardness that was sure to follow after last night. What you absolutely could not swallow was Sans wanting nothing to do with you anymore.

“What?” he asked, his voice raising an octave. “Hold a sec--”

“I’ll move out,” you bawled, cutting him off and saving him the effort of trying to be nice. “And find somewhere else to work and--”

“Where are you?” his voice broke through the speaker, muffled by what sounded like fumbling on the other end.

“Huh?” you sniffled.

“Where are you?” he repeated in broken pieces, like you were losing the call.

You looked around, blinking away tears. You hadn’t been on the path for long at all, only just passing Doggo’s empty post.

“I’m--”

“Found you.”

You whirled around and there Sans was behind you. His chest was heaving, like he had run there, but you hadn’t heard him coming at all. He still had his phone pressed to his ear. He hung up, shoving the phone into his pocket, and came forward, dropping to his knees in front of you. You were both pretty equal like that, eye to eye, and he gave you a small smile.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” you returned, your voice sounding too much like a whimper for your liking.

Sans reached out and gently took the phone from your hand, which you had still been holding to your ear like an idiot, and he deposited it back into its home in your bag. Then he pulled the sleeve of his coat up over his palm and began to wipe away your tears.

“I could never hate you,” Sans asserted. “You gotta know that.”

“You don’t want me to leave?” you asked, eyes closing as he softly brushed your cheeks.

“Of course not. Sheesh, kid,” he sounded exasperated. “You’re not a Froggit. Don’t jump to crazy conclusions.”

“You asked if I was going to on the phone,” you reminded him.

“Yeah, ‘cuz I figured you wouldn’t want to stick around after this morning,” Sans said. “Thought maybe I scared you off.”

“Now who’s the one jumping to conclusions,” you mumbled. “This morning you seemed so…upset.”

That didn’t quite seem like the right word. It was more like he had been absolutely horrified with last night’s antics. It was the strongest reaction you had seen him have to anything so far.

“I know,” he agreed, cocking his head as he dropped his hand from your face, and he gave you a lopsided smile once he saw that you were no longer crying. “Still haven’t wrapped my head around that yet and I gotta make something clear here, kid.”

Oh no. That sounded a lot like a rejection was coming. You braced yourself, teeth clamping together as if that would somehow help. 

“I don’t remember anything. It must have been the Fireballs. I forgot how bad those messed me up,” Sans said. “But I know nothing happened between us last night.”

Of course nothing happened. How would that even be possible? Sans was a skeleton! Well, a magical monster skeleton.  _Could_ something have happened?

“I would know if...anything did,” Sans continued, pupils directed over your shoulder and he was just as blue as he had been this morning. “And I would never...ya know, take you to the _bone zone_. Not while you were drunk.”

The bone zone was a thing? What about when you were sober? No, hold the phone. You were not ready for this conversation. You were missing some vital information obviously and you just couldn’t go there right now.

“Sans...” you started, your voice sounding too hysterical for your liking and you cleared your throat, trying again. “I know you wouldn't do that. I never thought anything happened. I just thought you were mad at me.”

“No,” Sans answered quickly. “I _ulna_ thought you were pissed with me.”

You couldn't help but giggle. Just a little. He knew just how to put you at ease. So it was all a misunderstanding?

“No. I'm _patella-ing_ you that I'm not.”

His answering smile to your words was breathtaking. He looked so reassured. Like you had lifted the world off his shoulders suddenly.

“Any idea where I got the shirt?”

“Shirt?” you asked, flushing. “You mean the ‘bone zone’ one?”

“Yeah,” he snickered, looking amused. “I didn’t own that before last night.”

“Did we go shopping or something?” you pondered, trying to remember anything and continued to come up blank. “It was so late and we were so…”

“Trashed,” Sans finished for you, laughing. “I think the next time we go out, we should stay away from the bar.”

You blinked at him.

“Yeah,” he answered your unspoken question, slowly getting to his feet and brushing the snow from his pants. “There’ll be a next time. And a bunch more times after that. That is…”

He held his hand down to you, palm up and fingers open, and he flashed an anxious grin.

“...if you stay.”

A wave of familiarity came over you. It reminded you of the other day outside the shop when he had done the exact same thing and you finally understood why he had laughed at you then. He didn’t want the groceries, your money, or some wonky high-five. He had been asking for your hand.

You put your hand in his and let him pull you to your feet. It was then that you realized that your pants were soaked through from sitting in the snow and your legs had reached that point of burning numbness. He glanced down at you, his mouth drawing to side in a look of obvious disapproval.

“It’s like you’re always _dying_ to get hypothermia,” he said, keeping your fingers threaded through his.

“What do you know about hypothermia?” you asked, shivering but oddly enough you didn’t feel very cold.

“I know humans can die from it,” he snarked “C’mon. We’ll take a shortcut.”

He lead you up the path a few paces and you wondered how he was going to pull it off this time when you were out in the open. You made the mistake of blinking and found yourself standing inside of the house when you opened your eyes, fingers still locked with Sans’. It was quiet and warm, still smelling like bacon. Papyrus must have already left for his sentry duty.

“Are you ever going to tell me how you do that?” you asked, turning to face him.

“Maybe if you’re really good,” Sans said, chuckling. “Santa will tell you.”

“Alright, _Sans_ ta.”

“Your total lack of faith in the big guy is a real bummer. Guess it’s the naughty list for you,” he told you, giving a terrible effort at pretending to be disappointed. “Now let’s get you out of those clothes.”

If you could have bristled like a cat, you would have, and you let go of his hand in surprise. He seemed alarmed as well, his smile frozen on his face and he was sweating again.

“Wait, wait,” Sans insisted, pressing his hand over his eye sockets and you could see the blue spreading across his cheekbones. “That’s not--”

“I know. It just caught me--”

“--Man, I really set myself up for that one,” he mumbled, lowering his hand and he gave you an apologetic shrug. “Sorry.”

You both stared at one another a moment and then fell apart. It felt so great to let go after the high anxiety of the day. You could feel the stress slipping away as your laughter bounced throughout the room. Finally everything seemed to be getting back to normal.

Since you had been Underground for awhile now, you had finally accumulated some clothes of your own. To ward off the chill from your wet pants, you took a hot shower and put on a dry outfit. When you came back out, you found Sans had changed as well. He was laid out on the couch, using his folded arms as a pillow, and had left you just enough room to sit beside his head.

“Still got all your toes?” he asked as you as you flopped down beside him.

“Yup, all nine of them.”

A second passed.

“Hold up. That’s not right,” he mumbled quietly.

You laughed at his concerned expression and he followed after you.

“You _toe_ -tally got me,” he added. “That’s _toe_ -riffic.”

“Oh no, stop,” you ordered, trying not to grin. “I didn't ask for this.”

“No way, you started it,” he said, smiling mischievously “Which reminds me. I wanted to talk to you about that time with the mistle _toe_.”

You immediately frowned. You had managed to avoid that conversation before. Why bring it up now? Things were just starting to calm down.

“What about it?” you stammered.

“I put it there.”

“I already knew that, Captain Obvious,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“I planned on kissing you when I did.”

Your heart screeched to a stop and then picked back up, double speed.

“Sans,” you started, your whole body burning. “Don’t kid.”

“I’m not,” Sans protested.

“ _Sans_ ,” you stressed.

“I’m serious.”

He adjusted on the couch, sitting up, and he had his hand on the back of his head. He wouldn’t look at you, eyeing the carpet like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“I just wish I had lips so I could have done it the right way.”

He glanced up at you, his white pupils fixing on your face and he seemed to be searching for something there. You had no idea what your expression was like. All you knew is that if he kept going on like that your heart was going to give out.

“I thought I blew it this morning,” he said quietly, as if struggling to find the words. “But you stayed…and I decided I don't want to play games anymore.”

He was talking to you and you were hearing him, but it was like a foreign language. The gibberish nonsense from your fantasies. He just wasn’t making any sense.

“Friend. Buddy. Pal.”

He reached out for your hand, his fingers firm on your wrist but not demanding, and he carefully brought your hand up to his face. He pressed his mouth to your knuckles in a sort of chaste kiss and then peeked up at you with a smile shaped by bashful hope.

“Maybe we could be more.”

You didn’t know what to say. You were scared to speak, as if that would be the trigger to wake you from the dream. As you struggled for words, Sans’ cool demeanor began to dissolve and he was floundering.

“I mean, if you want to,” he said in a flurry of rushed words, squirming before you. “I don’t want you to do something you don’t want. No pressure, alright?”

He looked down at his lap, giving a nervous chuckle, and you still couldn’t work your mouth. He had left you speechless. Completely floored.

“Throw me a bone here, kid,” he almost whispered, sounding desperate. “Say something. Anything.”

Knowing words would never do you justice, you did the only thing you could think of. Gently you raised your hand to cup his cheek, your hand fitting perfectly there, and your thumb gently stroked the smooth bone. As if you could soothe away his distress through touch alone.

“You’re such a bonehead,” you told him. “Of course I feel that same.”

He closed his eyes, as if that was exactly what he had been waiting to hear. He looked relieved. Happy. He immediately turned his face into your palm, nuzzling slightly, and his skeletal hand came to rest on top of yours, keeping it there.

“I don’t know what comes next,” he said, sobering up slightly. “I’m no good at this.”

“Me either,” you said. “I never thought about what came after.”

“Oh yeah?” he said, turning back to face you and he gave you a sly grin. “But you _have_ been thinking about me?”

“Maybe,” you admitted, your body on fire again, and he laughed.

He released your hand to tuck his under your chin and came so close that your noses would have been touching if he had one. His forehead rested against yours and his tepid breath washed over your cheeks. His fingers slid up the length of your jaw and tangled in the hair at the nape of your neck, making you gasp.

“I’ve been thinking about you too. A whole damn lot.”

It was just you and him, safe in your own little bubble. You felt yourself fall into his stare, losing yourself in the gravity of his emotions. That overwhelming sense of being aimless and lost seemed to drift away, making it abundantly clear what you had been missing all along.

You were ready to surrender yourself to him completely.

“Maybe we should cool down a bit,” he whispered suddenly, his voice lower and huskier than usual. He also seemed be forcing words through his teeth, like he was trying to convince himself. “I know they’re rerunning Mettaton’s old Christmas specials.”

The thought of trying to stomach a Mettaton show sorta soured the mood. You made a face at him and he laughed, leaning back. He took the heat of the moment with him. As his fingers slowly slipped away from your neck, you noticed the way they lingered there as if he were reluctant to let go, and a shiver ran down your spine at the loss of his proximity.

“No trip to the bone zone for me.”

Immediately you winced, humiliated by the fact that your mouth functioned on a separate track than your brain. You quickly tried to laugh off your words, but you saw that Sans was smirking at you and obviously getting a kick out of your mortification.

“I’m kidding. _Just kidding_ ,” you insisted, wondering if you could pretend to be related to Grillby if you suddenly combusted. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Oh, so it was _your_ fault we ended up in my room,” Sans drawled, leaning his chin on his hand as he stared you down. “At least I know where I got the shirt now. Thanks.”

“You’re a skeleton, Sans. There’s no way anything like that could happen between us.”

His smirk curved sharply upwards, looking downright wolfish. If you didn’t know better, you would say that something akin to hunger settled in the set of his expression. His white, pinprick pupils seemed to see right through you. Why did you suddenly feel like prey?

“Don’t count me out yet.”

Blue light may have flashed in his left eye socket, but it was gone too fast to be sure.

“I’m sure I could show you a good time if you want.”

What had you gotten yourself into?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys. I so cannot wait to read your comments. Hahaha! I really want to thank you guys all so much for all of your support. Not only here on Ao3, but also on Tumblr. The feedback has been amazing and you all have been so generous with your compliments. You guys really make writing easier with your sweet words.
> 
> Also I will be spending the next few days editing the old chapters and fixing in typos/grammar errors I made, so if it says I keep updating the story but there's no new chapter, that's why. Thank you for your patience!  
> ALSO THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU NEED TO SEE.
> 
> First: http://pasmut.tumblr.com/
> 
> This wonderful artist made a whole new blog and MADE FAN ART OF THE STORY!!! Are you guys excited as I am? I dunno because I SCREAMED when I saw it. I was so pumped! They drew the last scene of the last chapter! I have never been more honored and honestly it makes me so happy. Like I cannot stop looking at it. You should go follow them because they are amazing.
> 
> Second: http://ttoba.deviantart.com/art/Hey-571961517
> 
> So magical-ocean-birb showed me this AMAZING artist, ttoba, and you all should go follow them on Tumblr. Both of them! Haha! She showed me this picture AFTER I wrote this chapter. She's my witness!!! BUT WHAT A COINCIDENCE, RIGHT? SO I HAD TO THROW IT IN HERE.
> 
> Thank you all again! So much! I love you all!!


	17. Cinematic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!!!

You kept your word.

“This one is my favorite!”

You were quite proud of the fort you had constructed in front of the TV. You had rummaged through the house to find every blanket, pillow, and chair the skeleton brothers had. The blankets stretched over your heads like a tent and pillows lined the floor below you, perfect for laying on. There was just enough room inside for the three of you to comfortably lay together on your stomachs while watching the TV.

“You said the last one was your favorite,” you countered Papyrus’ comment.

“He’s been saying that about every one so far,” Sans added.

“I know! They’re all just so good!”

You and Sans exchanged smiles, pleased with the results of the sleepover. Papyrus was having a blast and you could suffer through a Mettaton movie marathon if it meant seeing him smile like he was. You were laying between them, a huge bowl of popcorn in front of you. Papyrus had drowned it in garlic butter, so you were sticking to the other candy and snacks spread around.

“Okay so tell me what’s going on because I didn’t see the first one,” you queried. “He has a long, lost twin brother?”

“Yes, Nettaton!” Papyrus excitedly explained. “But Nettaton is evil and kidnapped Mettaton so he could switch places with him!”

“Why would he do that?” you asked.

“Who wouldn’t want to be Mettaton? Except me, of course!”

“Good point, Pap.”

Despite all your jokes, you had to give Mettaton some credit. He was an all-in-one robot, honestly. He seemed to put a lot of effort into every performance. He sang, danced, acted, and did whatever else a role called for. He was pretty entertaining for a box on wheels.

You reached out to the snack pile, keeping your eyes on the screen, and felt around for one thing in particular. Licorice. Once you found the gummy, rope candy, you ripped it out of the sticky package, and stuck the tip in your mouth. You sucked on it like a straw for a second, testing the flavor, before slowly starting to nibble it up.

“Share some, stingy.”

You turned to face Sans, mouth still full and confused by his words. There was a whole stash of candy he could take from. You got the answer you hadn’t anticipated when he closed the distance between you, teeth grazing your lips, and he bit off the rest of the licorice.

“Mm, thanks, _sweetie_.”

Your face matched the color of the cherry candy and he swallowed the piece whole, it disappearing into wherever food went in him. He looked pretty proud of himself and only a little blue in the face. He then snagged a small brick of chocolate from the pile and stuck it in his mouth. He wiggled it tauntingly between his teeth and raised his brow, managing to dare you without saying a word.

Sans didn’t think you would do it.

You shot a furtive look over your shoulder at Papyrus. The other skeleton was completely engrossed in the movie, stars practically shimmering in his eye sockets as he watched his idol. Knowing he wouldn’t be paying attention made you feel brave.

You quickly swooped in and pressed your lips to his teeth, breaking off the chocolate into your mouth. His eye sockets widened in surprise, like he never saw it coming, and then closed as he leaned into you. The chocolate began to melt on your tongue, leaving you craving something to replace it, and he seemed to sense it. His mouth opened, pushing your lips apart…

“Oh, you have to pay attention to this part!

You and Sans backed away from each other, properly abashed. Papyrus didn’t seem to have noticed anything, eyes locked on the movie. Thank goodness. Things had almost got out of hand there.

“I love this line!” Papyrus continued, ignorant of the shenanigans happening beside him. “He delivers it with so much emotion!”

“Uh...yeah, definitely.”

You tuned in, giving the show your full attention. You owed this time to Papyrus. You didn’t need to be trying to shove your tongue down Sans’ throat every chance you got. Wait. Sans didn’t even have a tongue. Or throat. Just what were you trying to accomplish again?

You felt Sans move beside you and you glanced over to see him rolling over onto his back. He winked at you before closing his eyes. In just a few minutes you could hear him quietly snoring. Traitor.

“Why am I not surprised?” Papyrus asked, hearing Sans’ snores. “Oh well! You and I shall keep each other company, sidekick!”

“Absolutely!” you agreed, returning his radiant smile.

Four movies later and you had far surpassed Papyrus’ usual bedtime. You noticed when his head started to bob, sinking forward slowly and then jerking back to attention once he realized his was drifting. He didn’t last much longer once that started and in minutes he had plopped down on his pillow, completely zonked out.

You giggled at the situation. You were snuggled up between two snoozing skeletons like it was the most common thing in the world. It was your new normal. You stretched out for the remote by Papyrus’ head, tapping the power button, and the picture blipped to darkness. You were feeling pretty sleepy yourself and decided to turn onto your side, hoping to join your friends for a little while before Papyrus would wake back up.

You nearly screamed.

The last thing you expected when you flipped over was to see Sans’ eye sockets open and watching you. How long had he been doing that? You were sure he had been out like a light until just a few seconds ago, but he appeared to be wide awake now.

“You’re going to kill me!” you hissed.

You were just barely keeping your voice down. There was no need to wake Papyrus up. Not for one of Sans’ japes.

“Did I rattle your bones?” he asked softly, flashing a saucy grin.

“Yes and I’m going to rattle yours if you don’t stop scaring me.”

“Ya mean it?”

You buried your face in your pillow, as if you could hide your fluster but his hushed chuckles told you that he was onto you. He made comments like that freely and often, but never actually acted on them. You were starting to think he just liked getting you riled up.

“So how was movie night?” he asked.

“I mean, they weren’t that bad. Maybe you would know that if you would have stayed awake,” you said, looking up at him sharply and he just smiled at you shamelessly.

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Sans shrugged.

That made sense. Sans would do anything Papyrus asked, so of course he had watched them already. You supposed you could forgive him for his treachery. Just this once.

“Do you guys have cinemas?” you asked.

“Dunno what that is, so I guess not.”

“They’re theaters where you go to watch the movie before they are released on DVD,” you told him.

“That sounds like a hassle,” he said. “Why go out somewhere when you can just wait and watch it in the comfort of your own home?”

“It can be nice,” you said. “A lot of people go to the movies on dates or whatever. There for awhile, I was going to see a new movie every weekend.”

“That’s a uh...lot of movies,” Sans said. “They don’t come out that fast down here.”

“Well, we have more than one ‘star.’ There’s so many of them that I don’t even know half of their names,” you said. “New shows and movies come out constantly. You would never be able to watch every single one.”

Sans was quiet for a moment.

“I can’t imagine what they’d be like. Full of people like you.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, waiting for the punchline, but it never came. He seemed genuinely curious and cautious, his pupils darting back and forth as he read your expression. It was the first time you were holding a conversation about the surface since he had bought you Nice Cream for the first time. It was like he had picked up on the fact that it was a touchy subject for you. Your affection toward the skeleton grew tenfold.

“Not like me,” you disagreed. “All of the actors are gorgeous and perfect. They’re the people that everyone wants to be.”

Sans’ smile slipped until it was a small, slight thing. He didn’t look amused at all.

“Why would you say that?”

“What?” you asked.

“That you’re not gorgeous?”

Sans reached out to you then, letting his fingertips stroke the length of your cheek. It was such a delicate touch. Almost teasing. It made all the hairs on your body stand on end.

“You’re the most perfect human I’ve ever seen.”

You were feeling dazzled again. Then...

“Sans,” you chastised flatly. “I’m the only human you’ve ever seen.”

“Ya caught me,” Sans said, grinning again. “But I know beauty when I see it.”

“Oh, Sans.”

You felt breathless.

Sans wrapped an arm around your middle and tugged you closer. You went easily, nestling against him and he rested his head on top of yours. A sense of comfort fell over you, so familiar like an old blanket or a favorite pair of pajama pants, and your whole body began to unwind. You don’t know why he had this effect over you.

“Tell me more about the surface.”

You were happy to change the subject from yourself and Sans was eager to hear. It turned out that monsters actually knew very little about humans and the world above, clinging to ancient, word-of-mouth myths. Sans ate all of it up, asking question after question about what life was like before your fall.

He seemed especially intrigued by technology and how it had advanced over the years. Your knowledge of the mechanics of everything was fairly limited, making you wish you were more of the engineer type so you could explain it all to him. The conversation took a sharp turn when the subject of aerospace was brought up.

“Now I know you’re trying to pull my leg,” he drawled.

“I’m not!” you told him, laughing. “We landed on the moon.”

He held your gaze for several minutes. He honestly was waiting for you to crack smile, burst into laughter, or something. The fact that he actually thought you were joking made it hard, but you managed to keep your expression clear.

“Spaceships?” he asked dubiously. “Really?”

“Really!” you insisted. “We even put a rover on Mars! There’s so much more than the surface out there. I’m not much of an astronomer or physicist so don’t expect me to explain how it all works, but it’s the truth.”

“I don’t know about all that,” Sans said, closing his eye sockets as if he were trying to imagine it. “Parents tell little monsters stories about the surface as they tuck ‘em into bed. That the night sky is actually full of specks of light, too many to count, and that you can actually draw pictures in them, like connecting the dots. That it just goes on and on forever. That true?”

“Yes,” you said. “But we’ve hardly scratched the surface on what’s actually out there.”

“Wow,” Sans murmured. “I guess I’m not a sucker for believing in those stories after all. I’ve always wanted to see them.”

“See what? Space?”

“Stars.”

That made you pause.

“Hell, even the sun would be nice,” Sans continued. “I don’t know why I want to so badly. We’ve been down here for hundreds of years. I’ve accepted the way things are, but I’ve always been curious.”

Your heart was sinking slowly.

“A few telescopes have fallen down here. One even came with an instruction manual or I would have never known what they were for,” Sans reminisced. “I hung onto it. Just in case we ever made it out of here, you know? I wanted to see the stars for the first time with Papyrus…”

He opened his eyes, giving you a charming smile.

“And you.”

That was extremely sweet and all. You were flattered, but…

“You’ve not really been to Waterfall much,” Sans continued. “There’s a place we call the Wishing Room. The stones on the ceiling sparkle and shine. I guess it’s supposed to look like the night sky up there. I’ll have to take you sometime and you can tell me if it really does. I guess that’s as good as we’re gonna get down here.”

His grin grew larger, filling his face, but his words were dripping with bitterness. You felt sick. That’s when you knew for sure that he was pretending.

“Don’t.”

He blinked as you cradled his face in your hands, kissing his cheekbone gently.

“You don’t have to force yourself. Not with me.”

His smile faded slowly, leaving that relaxed expression you had seen only while he had been sleeping. It was so much more natural. So much more him. He buried his face in your shoulder and his whole body deflated as he sighed, as if he had been waiting for someone to say that to him all of his life. Maybe even longer that.

“Thanks, babe.”

It was time someone looked after Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, I have decided that there will be NO explicit smut in this story. Just fluff and implied smut. There are several reasons for this. 
> 
> 1) I tried it and it just never came out the way I wanted. I think because I'm not 100% comfortable with it. 
> 
> 2) I want to keep the reader completely self-insertable and completely ambiguous. 
> 
> 3) I have a lot of readers and they all have different identities that I don't want to step on.
> 
> There are so many great smut writers out there, so you should check them out instead. I just recently read one called "The Lost Toy Problem" by Auntie_Diluvian and another "That's Not How People Work" by androsuit. I don't actually read as much fanfiction as I should, so I wish I could recommend more. I'm sure people could help you out in the comments with some of their favs.
> 
> Thank you for understanding!
> 
> Edit: Little_Ocelot1598 has also suggested "Unexpected Attraction" by eikuuhyo in case anyone wants more smut in their lives. I know I do. It just doesn't flow for me in this story! Happy sinning, guys!


	18. Wonder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday again, mysteriousanimegirl! I hope it was an amazing day!
> 
> Also this is going to be the most suggestive chapter of the story most likely. There's nothing really important to the plot, but also there's nothing explicit in here either. Just a warning for anyone that might not be up for innuendos and bad puns.

“Where ya going?”

Sans was leaning against his bedroom door, trying to look casual but he had suddenly materialized there when he saw you heading in that direction. You stood your ground, a hamper under one arm and a trash bag in hand. You both stared each other down and he kept one eye closed, his smile strained while you frowned at him.

“I’m just going in there for the trash and dirty laundry,” you told him.

“Can’t a guy get a little privacy?” he asked flippantly.

“I’m not going to mess with your things,” you huffed, annoyed that he would suggest so, joking or not. “Come supervise if you’re so worried about it.”

“You sure you’re not just trying to get me behind closed doors, hun?” he asked cheekily.

Oh no. He wasn’t going to pull that. He had been dropping little pet names lately and you noticed that he hadn't called you buddy, pal, or any of the old monikers since. He really seemed to be taking the “more” part seriously. Or he had realized the effect it had over you.

But sweet talk wasn't going to win you over this time. His room was beyond unacceptable and you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since you first saw it. For all the wrong reasons. Could monsters get cockroaches? Monster cockroaches! That was the stuff of nightmares.

You scowled and his grin widened, not intimidated in the slightest. Switching tactics, you puckered your lips and really laid on the puppy dog pout. He immediately melted before your eyes, sighing and turning into a dark, blue puddle.

“Alright, ya cheater,” Sans relented, turning around and he unlocked the door. “Let me grab a few things.”

Sans stepped inside and shut the door behind him. You continued to hold the hamper and trash bag, waiting on the landing. A few minutes ticked by and you could hear a lot of commotion on the other side of the door. It made you extremely curious, but you were respectful enough to not snoop. Finally, he peeked out to give you a tired smile, breathing heavy and sweating.

“Okay, I hid the skeletons in my closet,” Sans said, opening the door for you to come in.

As soon as you stepped inside, Sans shut the door behind you and turned the lock in place. You hoped that he wouldn’t notice how badly that unnerved you or the blood creeping up your neck. He shuffled past you and didn’t bother with the lamp on his dresser, letting the light from the window dimly illuminate the room. He flopped sideways on the bed and propped up his head with his hand, giving you a smug grin.

Looking around the room, you quickly understood the reason for his cockiness. Not only was all of the trash gone, but so were the scattered papers and books that had been there before. Also the dirty laundry had been shoved into a pile in the corner of the room, just waiting to be put in a basket. He had managed to tidy up in less than five minutes.

“How do you do that?” you demanded, throwing the trash bag at him.

You missed of course, the black plastic flying over his head and smacking the wall behind him harmlessly.

“Aw, don’t trash my room. I just cleaned,” Sans chided and then he practically cackled as you held the empty hamper over your head threateningly. “Whoa, don’t be a _basket_ case.”

You had to laugh then. He was just prepared for everything. You quickly gathered the dirty clothes into the hamper and started to turn towards the door to take it to the washer. You weren’t going to be _that_ person, disturbing his personal space and messing with his things.

“All that trouble to get in here and you’re leaving so soon?”

You looked over your shoulder and saw him patting a spot on the bed beside him. Then he winked, giving you his best bedroom eyes. Eyebrows not included. The only thing that could have made it worse was if he had a rose in his mouth or some smooth jazz playing in the background.

“You should keep me company for a bit.”

His words from the other day, “ _I’m sure I could show you a good time if you want,_ ” echoed in your mind. You very suddenly wanted to crawl up inside yourself and disappear. Knowing Sans and his abilities though, he could probably still find you even in the void.

You were trembling slightly as you sat the hamper down and crossed the room to join him. He scooted over a little bit to make room and you laid down beside him, but he gave you enough space so that you weren’t touching at all. Maybe he could sense your jitters?

“At least we’re sober this time,” you told him, trying to calm yourself with deep breaths, and you tilted your head so you could look at him. “How do you get drunk anyways?”

“Same way you do. Drink.”

“That’s not what I mean. You don't have a liver or blood.”

“What’s that have to do with it?” he asked, mimicking you by turning his head so you were facing one another. “Our drinks and food are made of magic.”

That sparked a conversation of comparisons between human and monster bodies. You and Sans had been having these talks for days now. Just when you thought there was nothing else to tell him about the surface, he would think of another question and a dozen more would soon follow.

It was so amazing to hear about how the monsters perceived humans. They seemed to think that humans were these horrible, formidable beings, which mirrored the way humans felt about monsters. But it turned out that aside from being made of magic instead of blood and guts, there weren’t that many differences culturally. Though it was worth noting that monsters were a thousand times kinder to you than any human had ever been.

At some point during the talk, you had shifted so you were laying on your side, using your bent elbow as a pillow and your other hand had worked its way to Sans’ own. His grip on your hand was precise, fiddling with your fingers. He constantly bent, pulled, and spread them like he was testing them.

“What are you doing?” you asked once you noticed, giggling a little.

“You’re just interesting.”

He ran his thumb down the center of your palm and brought it to your wrist, applying pressure. You realized that he was feeling for you pulse. Your heartbeat instantly spiked and you could feel it flutter under his firm grasp.

“Oh, so any human would do?” you asked, sounding more confident than you actually felt.

“No,” Sans breathed, without even taking a moment to consider. “Just you.”

He glanced up at you shyly.

“Can I...uh, do something?”

Your heart began to pound so loud you were sure he could hear it without looking for it. You were too nervous to speak. All you could do was nod in consent and he jerked his head towards the floor.

“Sit down there.”

You complied, climbing down onto the floor and leaning against the bed for support. You couldn’t see him, but you knew he was still kneeling on the bed behind you.

“Here?”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

You felt him moving around, the mattress shifting under his weight. He settled behind you and his legs hung over the edge of bed next to your shoulders. That put you directly between his knees and you were facing away from him. His hands came to rest on the top of your head.

“Er…what--”

Before you could say anything else, Sans’ fingers snaked through your hair, dragging lightly against your scalp. You shut down immediately, leaning into his ministrations. His bones were hard, but he never put enough force behind them to cause pain.

“Does it hurt?” he sounded tense.

“Mmm...no.”

Just the opposite.

“Stop me if it does, ‘kay?”

You made some incoherent noise, too lost in his careful touches. He chuckled a little, such a throaty sound for someone lacking one, and it tickled your ears since he was so close. He was leaning over you and at first you thought he was just massaging you, but you soon noticed that his movements were too calculated.

He would do little things like scratch a certain spot, press somewhere specific, or pull lightly on your locks. He kept changing it up as if he was trying to gauge your reaction to each one and if you gave some sign of approval, he would repeat the act as if to confirm he had done something right. He began to mumble very quietly to himself, whispers too soft for you to make out even with how near he was. It was all so clinical, reminding of you getting a check up at the doctor’s.

His hands slipped lower. He circled the shape of your ears, rubbing them between his fingertips, and tugging on the lobes. You laughed when he tried to stick a finger inside one of them, breaking his concentration, and he nuzzled his face in your hair before continuing. He lined your jaw and cheeks, like he may have been counting bones or trying to commit your features to memory. He had taken the revelation about you having a skeleton of your own under your skin much better than Papyrus.

He kept working your skin, pushing and pinching until he came to your neck. His fingers came to rest on one side of your throat and his thumb on the other. His grip tightened a fraction, forcing you to swallow. A flicker of panic shot through you, but you squished it down quickly.

You trusted Sans.

“You feel so _alive_.”

You tilted your head back to look up at him and were surprised to see him gazing down at you with an unfathomable expression. He actually looked a little spooked and you wanted to do something to make it better. As if he was sharing your thoughts, his hands slipped under your arms and he pulled you back onto the bed.

On top of him.

You did exactly what you intended, pressing your mouth to every inch of bone you could find and his arms were snaked around your waist, holding you close. He chortled and leaned into your touches, encouraging you to keep moving down. It was only when your lips grazed under his mandible and towards his neck that he started to wiggle away from you. You glanced up to see he had gone all blue.

“Oh,” you gasped, sitting up. “Sorry.”

It was then that you realized that you were practically straddling him. You had obviously been too forward again. You quickly started to shift around, trying to find the fastest and least awkward way to crawl off of him. Before you could go anywhere, his hold on you tightened.

“Hey, you don’t have to go,” Sans coaxed quietly. “It’s just that if you keep doing that...”

He trailed off, sniggering. There seemed to be gag line he was leaving out, but he just let it hang there. Apparently you were supposed to know what he was hinting at, but you had no clue.

“What? Are you ticklish?” you asked.

“Nah, just a little...sensitive.”

He was looking over your shoulder, avoiding your eyes. That was the surefire way to tell whether or not he was keeping something from you. The absolute last thing you wanted to do was make him uncomfortable, but you really didn’t want to get off either. His hands had come to rest on your hips, squeezing gently, and it was nice being so intimate with him. Maybe he felt the same way...

Time to put yourself out there.

“Can I try something?” you asked.

Sans’ pupils snapped to your face, looking wary. He stared at you levelly, like he was contemplating your request. It was only for a second, but it felt like an eternity to you, and your cheeks were scorching.

“Sure, knock yourself out.”

Thank god. You may have never mustered up the courage to ask for anything ever again if he had turned you down.

You started at the very top of his skull and worked your way down slowly. You let your fingertips brush along the contours of his skull, trying to imitate the methodical way he had studied you. You wanted to know every facet of his face so that when you closed your eyes, you could see him as clearly as a picture.

Sans’ mouth was set in a lopsided grin and eyes half-closed, watching you in amusement as you tried to name every bone. When you were wrong or missed one, he patiently corrected you. Once you reached his collarbones or “clavicles” as he told you, you noticed that his breathing had sped up and you could actually feel his ribs shuddering underneath you.

“Do you want me to stop?” you asked.

“No, just--”

He arched his back off the bed, pulling the zipper of his coat up and he shimmied out of it. He tossed it over the foot of the bed and then glanced up at you bashfully.

“Thought I would make it easier for ya.”

He had a t-shirt on underneath. Much to your chagrin, you recognized the words across the front immediately. Of course it was the “BONE ZONE” one, arrow and all.

“I can’t believe you’re wearing that,” you told him, your disapproval obvious.

“What? It’s my new favorite.”

You could only frown at his shit-eating grin for so long before you had to smile back. His good humor was just too contagious. You were ready to continue your anatomy lesson, but he reached up for you suddenly. With both hands cradling your head, he tugged your face down to his.

You closed your eyes, getting swept up in the moment. You knew Sans couldn’t kiss you, not the normal way, but he still liked pressing his teeth to your mouth anyways. It was sweet and his good intentions meant more than anything. You thought you knew what to expect from him by now.

You were wrong.

Sans’ mouth opened wide, parting your lips and you felt something slip sneakily inside. It was warm, wet, and slid along the roof of your mouth in a teasing caress. Your eyes instantly popped open and you jumped back, breaking the contact.

Hanging freely between Sans’ teeth was a tongue. It was luminescent, cyan in color, and slightly translucent, the outline of his teeth just barely visible through it. That wasn’t the only new, shocking addition to your skeleton. His right eye socket was hollow and dark, but the pupil in his left eye socket was glowing the same color as the tongue.

“Cat got your tongue?”

His words were slightly garbled, speaking around the tongue and he flicked it suggestively, sending your mind to lewd places. That was the moment you realized that you had severely underestimated Sans. From the gleeful look on his face, he seemed pleased with whatever shade of red your face was. He retracted the appendage back into his mouth, it disappearing as soon as he did, and the unusual light faded from his left eye. His normal pupils lit up his eye sockets and he grinned up at you.

“Sorry,” he sounded breathless, looking up at you with one eye socket closed. “I shouldn’t have surprised you like that.”

Forget apologies. You had bigger concerns.

“How did you do that?” you demanded, words tumbling out of your mouth. “Was that magic?”

“Yeah,” Sans answered, laughing at your enthusiasm. “I guess you could call it that.”

“Can you do it again?”

Sans blinked, looking startled that you would ask and he every bone on his body seemed to blush. You were right there with him, trying not to explode as you knelt there over him. Still, you couldn’t help but be completely fascinated by your new discovery.

“I mean…” he muttered, looking up at you nervously and you noticed he was perspiring slightly. “Yeah. If you’re okay with that.”

“What else can you do?”

“Depends on what you’re looking for,” Sans replied elusively, his grin transforming into something a little darker. Something predatory. “I know a few tricks.”

Curiosity killed the cat...

“Will you show me?”

...but satisfaction brought it back, right?

The blue light flickered back to life in his left eye socket, burning brighter than before, and he was smirking up at you now. Forget hungry. He looked downright ravenous and his fingers were tangling in your hair, leading your mouth down to his.

“I’ve got a _tongue_ of things to show ya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I don't know what embarrasses me more. The bad jokes or the suggestive content. Haha.
> 
> Next chapter is your last happy chapter. I promised you guys some fluff and I'm all out after the next chapter. Sorry, guys. It's time.
> 
> <3


	19. Present

“Wake up, lazybones!”

Sans grumbled, trying to bury his face in his pillow, but Papyrus’ knocking was persistent. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to ignore his brother for much longer or else he would break the door down. Sans reached over, expecting you to be laying right there beside him, but his hand found nothing but empty sheets. Panic shot through him, breaking through his grogginess, and he sat up quickly, looking around.

You had been there the night before. You didn’t mean to stay the whole night, but you had dozed off before you could go back downstairs and Sans wasn’t about to wake you up. He had watched you for awhile, just listening to you breathing softly and he could hear your heartbeat if he laid his skull on your chest. He remembered thinking, just as he drifted off, that hopefully you were dreaming about him.

He was hopeless.

Now you were nowhere to be found. He tore the blanket off and rushed to the door, yanking it open. Immediately Papyrus pulled him up into a crushing hug, stalling him.

“Merry Christmas, brother!” Papyrus cried happily.

Sans could have yelled in relief. If it was still Christmas then nothing had reset yet. Everything was fine...right? He wondered why you had gotten up without waking him, but he was sure it was nothing to worry about. No big deal.

“Heh, is that today?” Sans asked. “I thought it was to- _marrow_.”

“Oh no! Already? I will not have you ruining the sanctity of Christmas with your terrible humor!”

Sans laughed heartily as Papyrus sat him back on his feet and followed him downstairs to the living room. He thought he would find you sitting on the couch or in front of the tree, but you weren’t there either. Paranoid speculation kept rattling around in his skull and he quickly checked under the tree. The packages with your name on them were still there, so where were you?

“Goodness gracious, Sans!” Papyrus announced, noticing the tree as well. “Santa must have thought we were really good this year!”

“Oh yeah?” Sans asked distractedly, glancing towards the bathroom door and he saw that it was dark inside. Not there either. “No coal for me?”

“Surprisingly not!”

He already knew that the tree skirt was completely covered in gifts, wrapped in red, green, gold, blue, and silver paper. He had stayed up all night with you, wrapping presents together to make sure that the tree looked perfect for when Papyrus woke up. He couldn’t remember the last time they had actually made it until Christmas. He had been looking forward to it more than he would like to admit, but what would it matter if...

“Oh, Merry Christmas!”

There.

Sans whirled around to see you peeking your head around the kitchen doorway with a surprised expression on your face. You had a spatula in one hand and an apron on. Papyrus had woken up way too early, as usual, but you seemed to have beaten him to it for once. He was so glad to see and he had to refrain from kissing you right there in front of Papyrus.

“I didn’t think you would be up already,” you said, smiling warmly at them. “I thought I’d make a quick breakfast. It’s all done, so we can eat and open presents.”

“What a splendid idea, sidekick! How very thoughtful of you!”

Papyrus was completely engrossed in the presents, sitting on the floor and eyeing them like he could hardly contain his himself. Taking advantage of his brother’s distraction, Sans went directly to your side. He dropped his head onto your shoulder, slumping heavily against you.

“Sans?” you asked, sounding concerned, and you placed your free hand on his back. “What’s wrong?”

“Just real good to see ya, baby,” Sans murmured softly, nuzzling into your neck and wrapping an arm snugly around your waist. “Merry Christmas.”

“Oh, you two! There will be plenty of time to hug after presents!”

Sans pulled back from you, sort of stunned to be caught. You immediately fled back into the kitchen, redder than the ribbon on the gifts. Papyrus was normally much more oblivious, but apparently not on Christmas. He staring him down, motioning wildly towards the tree with his arms, and Sans could only laugh, shrugging helplessly at him.

Sans helped you serve breakfast, if slapping pancakes and eggs haphazardly onto a plate counted as helping. He pretended like he didn’t see the tiny, anxious looks you were shooting him and hoped that you wouldn’t press the issue further. He didn’t mean to worry you. He just needed to know that you were still there.

That you were real.

You all gathered around the tree with your plates and Sans let a few minutes go by on purpose. Papyrus was practically vibrating in excitement. His bones were clacking together and he couldn’t sit still, eating much too quickly. If he had a throat, he probably would have choked.

“Alright, bro, go for it.”

Papyrus hooted and immediately dived in, not holding back. Most of the presents were for him anyways. Sans looked over to see you watching intently, waiting to see if Papyrus liked what you had given him. It was nice having someone around that cared about his brother’s happiness like he did.

There were a lot of DVDs, mainly Mettaton’s newer movies and series. Also there were a bunch of crafting materials so Papyrus’ could continue to make clothes suited to his personal style, since store bought normally didn’t cut it, and many MTT brand products. Everything from cologne to bone wax. You had given him all of the cookware you could find and more books than his bookshelf would hold. Papyrus was ecstatic about everything.

“I must write to Santa to tell him how grateful I am!” Papyrus cried. “You must do the same, sidekick!”

“Of course, Pap,” you said, smiling at him.

Papyrus had given you both clothes, of his own making. Yours were all your favorite color and usually had “Sidekick” or “BFF” written boldly across the front. You looked a little flustered at the crop tops and sideless shirts, but appreciative all the same. Sans’ own clothes were baggy and comfortable, just how he liked them. Papyrus also always wrote funny things across the front like “Bad to the Bone” even if he hated the jokes himself.

“Yup,” Sans said, slipping the shirt over the one he was already wearing. “This is the best one yet.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Papyrus agreed, flushing. “Even though it is not to my taste, I must admit that it was masterfully crafted!”

“Here’s an idea for Sans’ birthday. He really needs one that says _Bone Daddy_ , Pap,” you said, grinning mischievously at him. “Or _Rib Tickler_.”

“What a great suggestion! You are very good at this. Must be because you two spend so much time together, although I do not consider it a good influence.”

Sans gave you a sharp grin. Did you really want to go there?

“Well,” Sans started.  “They need one that says _Scream_ \--mmrph.”

You had jumped at him, clamping both of your hands over his mouth and yelling frantically for him to stop. He was in stitches and Papyrus had no clue. You should have known better than to pick a fight with him. Sans would have been the undefeated innuendo champ.

If anyone kept track of that sort of thing.

“Look, Sans! There’s a really big one for you!”

“Hm?”

Sans looked up to see Papyrus dragging out a tall, long present from behind the tree. It hadn’t been there the night before. It was very thin, maybe an inch thick, and bigger than one of their windows. He recognized your wrapping paper and sent you a questioning glance. You immediately looked away, looking embarrassed, and wouldn’t meet his eyes.

So _that_ was why you were up before him.

“Let’s take a look.”

Sans stood up and grabbed it from Papyrus. It was surprisingly light despite its size and it made him extremely curious. He gingerly peeled back a fold of paper and tore it off. Underneath was a...black poster?

Sans wasn’t sure what to say. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful, but he didn’t understand. Was it a human thing?

“It’s...um, really nice. Thank you.”

“What is it?” Papyrus asked, scratching the back of his skull. “I do not get it at all.”

“No, no. Hold on.”

You came over and turned it over. Surprisingly there was wiring back there and a plug for the wall. You reached over to unplug the tree, killing the colorful lights, and put your plug in the socket. Immediately lights flickered to life across the front of the board.

“So it’s not really accurate or to scale because I had to go off of memory, but I thought maybe you would like to hang it up in your room?”

Sans stared down at it, confused for a moment and then it clicked. It was a black, foam board with tiny holes cut into the front and white, string lights were poked through the holes from the back. Thin thread was tied around some of the spots, making lines and creating patterns in the tiny pinpricks of light. Just like connect the dots.

“Stars,” Sans couldn’t help but whisper.

“Did you say stars?” Papyrus asked, leaning over to look at it. “They seem to making little pictures! How neat!”

“They’re constellations. Um, here’s the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. Here’s Orion and his belt,” you began pointing them out, nervously. “Oh and there’s the Pegasus.”

Sans followed your fingers, making out the images that you explained. He waited until you had told him every last one and then very carefully propped the poster against the tree. You opened your mouth to say something else, but he threw his arms around you before you could get another word out.

“Wowie!” Papyrus chirped. “The holidays really do bring everyone together!”

Sans had been the one to suggest they keep things on the down low in front of Papyrus, but he just didn’t give a damn at the moment. All he could think about was as being as close to you as he possibly could, squeezing you tightly against him. He buried himself in your embrace, enjoying the warmth and softness of your skin. Sans didn’t think he would ever get enough of holding you.

No matter how many times you reset.

“You like it?” you asked anxiously over his shoulder.

“Love it.”

You clutched him just as earnestly as he did you. He could have closed his eyes and stayed in that moment with you forever, but then Papyrus would get lonely. Sans couldn’t have that, so he reluctantly let go.

“Your turn,” Sans stated, grinning.

“Okay…”

If he thought you looked nervous before, it was nothing to the expression on your face now. Sans handed you a large package and stepped back to watch. You unwrapped it quickly and there was a closed box underneath. You stripped off the tape and pulled back the flaps to reveal another box. You opened that one to find the same thing inside.

“Oh no…” he heard you mutter to yourself.

“I can’t believe this!” Papyrus hollered at the same time. “To our dear friend!”

Sans was practically beside himself with glee. You began to open the boxes with fervor, each time pulling out an even smaller, closed box. It went on until about box fifteen or so until you finally fished out a box no bigger than the palm of your hand. You pulled it open and hummed happily when there was not another box inside.

“What’s this?”

You slipped out the thin, black device. It fit easily in between your fingers and reflected the room back in its screen. You pressed a button on the side and the lock screen came up. Sans was pretty proud of the picture he set, which was just a selfie of him him giving the camera finger guns. From the small snort of laughter you tried to stifle, you appreciated it too.

“A cell phone!” Papyrus said, sounding impressed. “That looks one of the newer models too! The great Dr. Alphys has done it again!”

“Now you can text for pizza,” Sans offered, shrugging.

You could also text him. If you wanted to. Totally up to you. That wasn’t one of the main reasons he bought it or anything.

“Thank you so much, Sans,” you said. “I’ll cherish it.”

You beamed up at him brightly and he started to feel like a big, pile of goo. That was definitely a good choice. There were a few more gifts to open from Santa, including a radio for the sentry station. He had just been complaining about needing one too.

Finally all of the presents were open and breakfast devoured. That meant that Papyrus was watching one of his new DVDs, pouring over a cookbook you had gotten him, and starting on his next t-shirt design all at once. Sans was sitting in front of the starboard with you while you explained what you knew about the mythology behind the constellations. Thinking that Papyrus was too busy to notice, he leaned over to whisper quietly in your ear.

“Did you get everything you wanted?” he asked.

“Yes and more,” you told him, grasping the phone tightly in your hand. “Honestly it was too much.”

“Nah, I think I got the better end of the deal,” Sans said, smirking. “But there is one thing I want that I didn’t get.”

“What is it?”

He looked up at your face to see that your eyebrows were already knitting together, looking adamant. He could practically see the wheels turning in your head. Whatever he asked for, he knew that you would try your hardest to get it for him.

He loved that about you.

“Did you see your last gift?” he asked, ignoring your question for a second.

“Last gift?” you asked, sounding confused.

“Check the phone box.”

You had to find the smallest box in the discarded wrapping paper pile in the center of the living room. Once you did, you flipped it over and shook it. Nothing came out. You looked up at him, smiling in confusion.

“Sans, there’s nothing in here.”

“Check again.”

“If this is another prank…” you murmured.

He just chuckled.

You shook the box again and out fell a key into your palm. It was identical to the one he used everyday. He watched the recognition spread over your face at once. You quickly looked up at him, astonished.

“The key to your room?” you asked.

“I like the idea of waking up to you in my bed,” Sans offered, trying to sound nonchalant but he was probably blushing anyways. “It’d be like Christmas every day.”

There you went, going all red again. It was honestly the most adorable thing. Did you even realize that? Probably not.

“What are you two over there whispering about?” Papyrus suddenly called out. “I do not trust it! Are you conspiring?”

“You think we would do that, bro?” Sans asked, smiling across the room at him.

“Without a doubt,” Papyrus said, looking at them suspiciously and with narrowed eye sockets.

“I’m wounded,” Sans replied playfully.

“Actually, now that I think about it…You two have been rather affectionate lately,” Papyrus observed. “Is there something you should tell me, brother? Sidekick?”

Welp. So much for keeping it a secret. Papyrus was just too smart to try and pull the wool over his eyes. Sans glanced at you, grinning and he could see the understanding in your eyes. You knew exactly what he was going to do.

“Well, Pap,” Sans started. “I guess you could say....”

He heard the smack of you clapping your hands to your face, obviously flustered, and that only made it that much better.

“...that they’re my _verte_ bae.”

Sans waited for Papyrus to explode into a ball of outrage at the pun. Instead, he looked like Sans had told him that Mettaton just recommended his spaghetti on TV or something equally as amazing. Sans didn’t know what to do when Papyrus rushed over to them, squashing them into a hug and began to screech in excitement.

“This is the best Christmas ever!”

Sans had to agree with that.

He couldn’t wait to make every other Christmas just as great.

\--- they/them/their ---

“Wake up, lazybones!”

Sans grumbled, trying to bury his face in his pillow, but Papyrus’ knocking was persistent. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to ignore his brother for much longer or else he would break the door down. Sans reached over, expecting them to be laying right there beside him, but his hand found nothing but empty sheets. Panic shot through him, breaking through his grogginess, and he sat up quickly, looking around.

They had been there the night before. They didn’t mean to stay the whole night, but they had dozed off before they could go back downstairs and Sans wasn’t about to wake them up. He had watched them for awhile, just listening to them breathing softly and he could hear their heartbeat if he laid his skull on their chest. He remembered thinking, just as he drifted off, that hopefully they were dreaming about him.

He was hopeless.

Now they were nowhere to be found. He tore the blanket off and rushed to the door, yanking it open. Immediately Papyrus pulled him up into a crushing hug, stalling him.

“Merry Christmas, brother!” Papyrus cried happily.

Sans could have yelled in relief. If it was still Christmas then nothing had reset yet. Everything was fine...right? He wondered why they had gotten up without waking him, but he was sure it was nothing to worry about. No big deal.

“Heh, is that today?” Sans asked. “I thought it was to- _marrow_.”

“Oh no! Already? I will not have you ruining the sanctity of Christmas with your terrible humor!”

Sans laughed heartily as Papyrus sat him back on his feet and followed him downstairs to the living room. He thought he would find them sitting on the couch or in front of the tree, but they weren’t there either. Paranoid speculation kept rattling around in his skull and he quickly checked under the tree. The packages with their name on them were still there, so where were they?

“Goodness gracious, Sans!” Papyrus announced, noticing the tree as well. “Santa must have thought we were really good this year!”

“Oh yeah?” Sans asked distractedly, glancing towards the bathroom door and he saw that it was dark inside. Not there either. “No coal for me?”

“Surprisingly not!”

He already knew that the tree skirt was completely covered in gifts, wrapped in red, green, gold, blue, and silver paper. He had stayed up all night with them, wrapping presents together to make sure that the tree looked perfect for when Papyrus woke up. He couldn’t remember the last time they had actually made it until Christmas. He had been looking forward to it more than he would like to admit, but what would it matter if…

“Oh, Merry Christmas!”

There.

Sans whirled around to see them peeking their head around the kitchen doorway with a surprised expression on their face. They had a spatula in one hand and an apron on. Papyrus had woken up way too early, as usual, but they seemed to have beaten him to it for once. He was so glad to see and he had to refrain from kissing them right there in front of Papyrus.

“I didn’t think you would be up already,” they said, smiling warmly at them. “I thought I’d make a quick breakfast. It’s all done, so we can eat and open presents.”

“What a splendid idea, sidekick! How very thoughtful of you!”

Papyrus was completely engrossed in the presents, sitting on the floor and eyeing them like he could hardly contain his himself. Taking advantage of his brother’s distraction, Sans went directly to their side. He dropped his head onto their shoulder, slumping heavily against them.

“Sans?” they asked, sounding concerned, and they placed their free hand on his back. “What’s wrong?”

“Just real good to see ya, baby,” Sans murmured softly, nuzzling into their neck and wrapping an arm snugly around their waist. “Merry Christmas.”

“Oh, you two! There will be plenty of time to hug after presents!”

Sans pulled back from them, sort of stunned to be caught. They immediately fled back into the kitchen, redder than the ribbon on the gifts. Papyrus was normally much more oblivious, but apparently not on Christmas. He staring him down, motioning wildly towards the tree with his arms, and Sans could only laugh, shrugging helplessly at him.

Sans helped them serve breakfast, if slapping pancakes and eggs haphazardly onto a plate counted as helping. He pretended like he didn’t see the tiny, anxious looks they were shooting him and hoped that they wouldn’t press the issue further. He didn’t mean to worry them. He just needed to know that they were still there.

That they were real.

They all gathered around the tree with their plates and Sans let a few minutes go by on purpose. Papyrus was practically vibrating in excitement. His bones were clacking together and he couldn’t sit still, eating much too quickly. If he had a throat, he probably would have choked.

“Alright, bro, go for it.”

Papyrus hooted and immediately dived in, not holding back. Most of the presents were for him anyways. Sans looked over to see them watching intently, waiting to see if Papyrus liked what they had given him. It was nice having someone around that cared about his brother’s happiness like he did.

There were a lot of DVDs, mainly Mettaton’s newer movies and series. Also there were a bunch of crafting materials so Papyrus’ could continue to make clothes suited to his personal style, since store bought normally didn’t cut it, and many MTT brand products. Everything from cologne to bone wax. They had given him all of the cookware they could find and more books than his bookshelf would hold. Papyrus was ecstatic about everything.

“I must write to Santa to tell him how grateful I am!” Papyrus cried. “You must do the same, sidekick!”

“Of course, Pap,” they said, smiling at him.

Papyrus had given them both clothes, of his own making. Theirs were all their favorite color and usually had “Sidekick” or “BFF” written boldly across the front. They looked a little flustered at the crop tops and sideless shirts, but appreciative all the same. Sans’ own clothes were baggy and comfortable, just how he liked them. Papyrus also always wrote funny things across the front like “Bad to the Bone” even if he hated the jokes himself.

“Yup,” Sans said, slipping the shirt over the one he was already wearing. “This is the best one yet.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Papyrus agreed, flushing. “Even though it is not to my taste, I must admit that it was masterfully crafted!”

“Here’s an idea for Sans’ birthday. He really needs one that says _Bone Daddy_ , Pap,” they said, grinning mischievously at him. “Or _Rib Tickler_.”

“What a great suggestion! You are very good at this. Must be because you two spend so much time together, although I do not consider it a good influence.”

Sans gave them a sharp grin. Did they really want to go there?

“Well,” Sans started.  “They need one that says _Scream_ \--mmrph.”

They had jumped at him, clamping both of their hands over his mouth and yelling frantically for him to stop. He was in stitches and Papyrus had no clue. They should have known better than to pick a fight with him. Sans would have been the undefeated innuendo champ.

If anyone kept track of that sort of thing.

“Look, Sans! There’s a really big one for you!”

“Hm?”

Sans looked up to see Papyrus dragging out a tall, long present from behind the tree. It hadn’t been there the night before. It was very thin, maybe an inch thick, and bigger than one of their windows. He recognized their wrapping paper and sent them a questioning glance. They immediately looked away, looking embarrassed, and wouldn’t meet his eyes.

So _that_ was why they were up before him.

“Let’s take a look.”

Sans stood up and grabbed it from Papyrus. It was surprisingly light despite its size and it made him extremely curious. He gingerly peeled back a fold of paper and tore it off. Underneath was a...black poster?

Sans wasn’t sure what to say. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful, but he didn’t understand. Was it a human thing?

“It’s...um, really nice. Thank you.”

“What is it?” Papyrus asked, scratching the back of his skull. “I do not get it at all.”

“No, no. Hold on.”

They came over and turned it over. Surprisingly there was wiring back there and a plug for the wall. They reached over to unplug the tree, killing the colorful lights, and put their plug in the socket. Immediately lights flickered to life across the front of the board.

“So it’s not really accurate or to scale because I had to go off of memory, but I thought maybe you would like to hang it up in your room?”

Sans stared down at it, confused for a moment and then it clicked. It was a black, foam board with tiny holes cut into the front and white, string lights were poked through the holes from the back. Thin thread was tied around some of the spots, making lines and creating patterns in the tiny pinpricks of light. Just like connect the dots.

“Stars,” Sans couldn’t help but whisper.

“Did you say stars?” Papyrus asked, leaning over to look at it. “They seem to making little pictures! How neat!”

“They’re constellations. Um, here’s the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. Here’s Orion and his belt,” they began pointing them out, nervously. “Oh and there’s the Pegasus.”

Sans followed their fingers, making out the images that they explained. He waited until they had told him every last one and then very carefully propped the poster against the tree. They opened their mouth to say something else, but he threw his arms around them before they could get another word out.

“Wowie!” Papyrus chirped. “The holidays really do bring everyone together!”

Sans had been the one to suggest they keep things on the down low in front of Papyrus, but he just didn’t give a damn at the moment. All he could think about was as being as close to them as he possibly could, squeezing them tightly against him. He buried himself in their embrace, enjoying the warmth and softness of their skin. Sans didn’t think he would ever get enough of holding them.

No matter how many times they reset.

“You like it?” they asked anxiously over his shoulder.

“Love it.”

They clutched him just as earnestly as he did them. He could have closed his eyes and stayed in that moment with them forever, but then Papyrus would get lonely. Sans couldn’t have that, so he reluctantly let go.

“Your turn,” Sans stated, grinning.

“Okay…”

If he thought they looked nervous before, it was nothing to the expression on their face now. Sans handed them a large package and stepped back to watch. They unwrapped it quickly and there was a closed box underneath. They stripped off the tape and pulled back the flaps to reveal another box. They opened that one to find the same thing inside.

“Oh no…” he heard them mutter to themselves.

“I can’t believe this!” Papyrus hollered at the same time. “To our dear friend!”

Sans was practically beside himself with glee. They began to open the boxes with fervor, each time pulling out an even smaller, closed box. It went on until about box fifteen or so until they finally fished out a box no bigger than the palm of their hand. They pulled it open and hummed happily when there was not another box inside.

“What’s this?”

They slipped out the thin, black device. It fit easily in between their fingers and reflected the room back in its screen. They pressed a button on the side and the lock screen came up. Sans was pretty proud of the picture he set, which was just a selfie of him him giving the camera finger guns. From the small snort of laughter they tried to stifle, they appreciated it too.

“A cell phone!” Papyrus said, sounding impressed. “That looks one of the newer models too! The great Dr. Alphys has done it again!”

“Now you can text for pizza,” Sans offered, shrugging.

They could also text him. If they wanted to. Totally up to them. That wasn’t one of the main reasons he bought it or anything.

“Thank you so much, Sans,” they said. “I’ll cherish it.”

They beamed up at him brightly and he started to feel like a big, pile of goo. That was definitely a good choice. There were a few more gifts to open from Santa, including a radio for the sentry station. He had just been complaining about needing one too.

Finally all of the presents were open and breakfast devoured. That meant that Papyrus was watching one of his new DVDs, pouring over a cookbook they had gotten him, and starting on his next t-shirt design all at once. Sans was sitting in front of the starboard with them while they explained what they knew about the mythology behind the constellations. Thinking that Papyrus was too busy to notice, he leaned over to whisper quietly in their ear.

“Did you get everything you wanted?” he asked.

“Yes and more,” they told him, grasping the phone tightly in their hand. “Honestly it was too much.”

“Nah, I think I got the better end of the deal,” Sans said, smirking. “But there is one thing I want that I didn’t get.”

“What is it?”

He looked up at their face to see that their eyebrows were already knitting together, looking adamant. He could practically see the wheels turning in their head. Whatever he asked for, he knew that they would try their hardest to get it for him.

He loved that about them.

“Did you see your last gift?” he asked, ignoring their question for a second.

“Last gift?” they asked, sounding confused.

“Check the phone box.”

They had to find the smallest box in the discarded wrapping paper pile in the center of the living room. Once they did, they flipped it over and shook it. Nothing came out. They looked up at him, smiling in confusion.

“Sans, there’s nothing in here.”

“Check again.”

“If this is another prank…” they murmured.

He just chuckled.

They shook the box again and out fell a key into their palm. It was identical to the one he used everyday. He watched the recognition spread over their face at once. They quickly looked up at him, astonished.

“The key to your room?” they asked.

“I like the idea of waking up to you in my bed,” Sans offered, trying to sound nonchalant but he was probably blushing anyways. “It’d be like Christmas every day.”

There they went, going all red again. It was honestly the most adorable thing. Did they even realize that? Probably not.

“What are you two over there whispering about?” Papyrus suddenly called out. “I do not trust it! Are you conspiring?”

“You think we would do that, bro?” Sans asked, smiling across the room at him.

“Without a doubt,” Papyrus said, looking at them suspiciously and with narrowed eye sockets.

“I’m wounded,” Sans replied playfully.

“Actually, now that I think about it…You two have been rather affectionate lately,” Papyrus observed. “Is there something you should tell me, brother? Sidekick?”

Welp. So much for keeping it a secret. Papyrus was just too smart to try and pull the wool over his eyes. Sans glanced at them, grinning and he could see the understanding in their eyes. They knew exactly what he was going to do.

“Well, Pap,” Sans started. “I guess you could say....”

He heard the smack of them clapping their hands to their face, obviously flustered, and that only made it that much better.

“...that they’re my _verte_ bae.”

Sans waited for Papyrus to explode into a ball of outrage at the pun. Instead, he looked like Sans had told him that Mettaton just recommended his spaghetti on TV or something equally as amazing. Sans didn’t know what to do when Papyrus rushed over to them, squashing them into a hug and began to screech in excitement.

“This is the best Christmas ever!”

Sans had to agree with that.

He couldn’t wait to make every other Christmas just as great.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was sort of less happy than I remembered...Haha. Whoops! 
> 
> So something bad has happened.
> 
> I started a second Sans/reader story. It's still in the planning stages, so I can't tell you much about except that it happens after the barrier is broken, with a different reader, and it's not my fault. I definitely blame my two friends magical-ocean-birb and grilledeggplant. You all should follow those awesome peeps on Tumblr.


	20. Selfish

Buttercups.

You were sitting in a patch of golden buttercups, a ray of warm sunlight spotlighting you in a dark room. You knew this place. It was the Ruins, where you had first fallen Underground.

You weren’t alone.

Sitting across from you on the other side of the flower patch was a tall, red-framed mirror. It seemed to be propped up on its own, facing you. Inside was your reflection, peering back at you with the same confused, inquisitive stare.

Predictably, you raised your right hand and tilted your head, testing the mirror. You watched your reflection, expecting it to do the same. It followed your actions, but inversely. It was as if they were a whole other person, raising their own right hand and tilting their head in the opposite direction. Could a mirror do that?

Then they blinked when you didn’t.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The voice coming from the image was all wrong, as if the same words had been layered over one another an infinite number of times at varying pitches. As if they were speaking to you from several different places in time at once. They reminded you of a corrupted audio file. A glitch.

Something that shouldn't exist anymore. 

“Do you really think you can stay down here forever?” your broken reflection asked in that same, terrifying voice. “That isn't how it works.”

They didn’t need to tell you that. You already knew that there was nowhere in this world that you belonged, above or below. Despite that, you wanted to keep pretending and stay by the brothers’ sides. You and Sans…

“Surprise surprise,” your reflection lilted in a sing-songy tone, sounding like a broken record player, and they rolled their eyes. “This happens every time we try things your way. You just keep going back to that skeleton and lose track of what we’re trying to do.”

“Maybe this is all there is,” you say. “We’ve tried everything and nothing works. We just end up back here. Maybe it’s supposed to be this way.”

“There’s still one thing we haven’t done. You know it,” they chastised. “Don’t be so pathetic.”

“I’m not,” you said. “I’m trying to be happy. Sans makes me happy.”

“Something will happen,” they warned. “It always does.”

“I know.”

But you didn’t actually know anything. You couldn’t even think. These words were coming out of your mouth all on their own. 

“But I want to try.”

“Don’t you think that this is all a little boring?” they asked. “The cooking. The cleaning. Falling in love? We’ve done this so many times before and nothing ever comes of it.”

They smiled at you.

A too-wide, wild-eyed grin.

“Maybe we should try things my way again.”

“No!” you cried. “He kills us every time. What’s the point?”

“Only because you won’t let us fight back,” they said. “The instant you see him, you just fall apart.”

“You know why,” you all but sob. “I can’t face him after Papyrus...I can’t.”

You didn’t understand. What happened to Papyrus? You had no control over the conversation. Your reflection cocked their head, curling their lip and staring at you coldly.

“They’re suffocating down here,” they said. “You're keeping them all trapped. We could free them if you just let me.”

“Not like that,” you argued. “I can’t hurt anyone else. There has to be another way!”

“Don't you see that it's the only way to save everyone? Even if we got them out of here alive, the humans would just kill them all anyways. We could end their suffering. Together.”

“I don't believe that.”

“Don’t be so naive.”

It was then that you noticed a quiet, hushed sobbing coming from the darkness outside the circle of light. You weren’t surprised at all. You knew exactly who it was. You felt pity…

...and guilt.

“You're so selfish,” your reflection hissed, glowering at you.

You knew that too.

“Things will go my way.”

Your reflection twisted into something horrible. Black sludge ran from your eyes and mouth, your features sagging, and your smile was too big for a human face. Yet the horrible reflection just started laughing. It was an abhorrent, grating sound similar to a train rushing through a tunnel and the mirror began to crack, distorting the image further.

“ _ Just wait. _ ”

Your eyes flew open and there were stars swimming above you. You blinked, clearing your vision, and you recognized the starboard hanging on the ceiling over the bed. Sans thought it was the perfect place to hang the constellations so he could see them every night. For just the smallest second, you thought that you were back on the surface.

It made you feel sick.

You sat up and slipped out of Sans’ embrace, sitting on the edge of the bed as you tried to wake up. These nightmares were becoming way too common. It was almost every other night now that you woke up feeling like you had just lived through the worst thing in the world.

“Mmm...babe?”

He had obviously noticed your absence. You felt the mattress dip as Sans shifted around behind you, yawning and sliding over to sit beside you. He wrapped an arm around your middle and pulled you closer. Immediately you leaned into his touch, resting your head on his bony shoulder.

“You okay?” he asked. “Another nightmare?”

Of course Sans knew what was bothering you. Ever since he had given you the key to his bedroom, you made use of it. Falling asleep in his arms every night was more happiness than you ever thought you deserved and you were cherishing the hell out of every precious second, but that also meant that Sans got to see the bad parts of you as well. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to mind.

“Yeah...I think it was a bad one,” you told him.

“Remember anything this time?” he asked.

“No,” you sighed. “And that makes it worse somehow. Not knowing why I feel this way.”

“What way?”

“Like something bad is about to happen.”

Sans’ grip on you tightened and he said nothing for awhile. He surprised you by suddenly pulling you back into the bed, tucking you under his arm. His embrace felt a little protective to you, but not in a bad way.

“How ‘bout we try to think about something else?” he asked, voice soft. “No need to get so worked up over a dream. It’s probably nothing.”

He was right. Nightmares didn’t mean anything. So long as they stayed in the dark corners of your mind where they belonged.

“Tell me the names of the constellations again?” he asked.

Sans obviously wanted to drop that topic faster than a hot potato. 

“Sure,” you agreed.

You began to list the constellations on the starboard, pointing each of them out to him again. You did this most nights before you went to sleep, so surely he knew them all by heart by now. Still, he seemed comforted by it anyways.

It didn’t take long for your eyelids to get heavy and slowly you trailed off. Sans kept a firm hold on you, his phalanges tracing the band of skin that was revealed as your shirt hiked up slightly in the back. Normally that would have got your heart racing, but now sleep was minutes off and it was just comforting. You let your eyes close and hoped for no more dreams for the night.

“You asleep?” Sans spoke up, drawing you back to consciousness.

“Mmm...no,” you murmured.

“Heh, you sound pretty asleep.”

“Your face is asleep.”

“Good one,” he snorted. “I wanna ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Have you thought about going back to the surface at all?”

You forced an eye open and peered at him. He was laying on his side, propping his head up with one hand as he stared at you. His eye sockets looked a little narrower than usual, like he was worried.

“No, why?” you asked.

“Just curious,” he asked, directing his pupils to the space between you.

“Don’t fib,” you told him. “Have you been thinking about the surface?”

“Not really. Haven’t in a long time,” he said, looking up at the starboard above. “Got everything I need right here. So long as you stay here with me and Pap.”

“What a coincidence,” you said, snuggling up to him and wrapping your arms around him. “That’s exactly what I have planned.”

He put his hand on the back of your head, holding you there.

“So you’re not going anywhere?” he asked.

He sounded so sad and heartbroken. You were reminded of the phone conversation you had with Sans the morning after your drunken shenanigans. When he thought that he had made you angry enough to leave Snowdin. It only made you squeeze him tighter, as if that was enough to banish whatever dark thoughts were on his mind.

“Where would I go? Everything I need is right here,” you repeated his own words back at  him.

He chuckled, leaning back and holding you close.

“Guess you’re right.”

He pressed his teeth to your forehead. 

“Try to get some sleep, babe.”

Sans made you feel safe. Protected. Happy. That’s all you ever wanted and finally you seemed to have found it.

Was that so terrible?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the one finished chapter I have that I never posted. Some people on Tumblr were asking for it, so I'm posting it. I still don't know if I'll be able to continue this or not. I'm sorry for all of the trouble, guys. Thank you for all of your support and kind words.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [In the Heart of Darkness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5225720) by [sanstaedium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanstaedium/pseuds/sanstaedium)
  * [Undertale (Reader x Sans)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5314409) by [mysteriousanimegirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysteriousanimegirl/pseuds/mysteriousanimegirl)




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